


Justifying You

by meslunettes



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fodlan is sort of a united kingdom already, Modern AU - Detectives, Rating May Change, Slow Burn, Warnings May Change, but also mutual pining, cameo of characters from other FE series, mentions of other characters may come up, modern fodlan setting, other ships if you squint, they just didn't realize it, very loosely inspired from B99 in some chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25743175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meslunettes/pseuds/meslunettes
Summary: Detective Claude von Riegan had always got to the bottom of his cases. His newest mystery to solve? The new appointed captain of his precinct, Captain Byleth Eisner. Little did he knew that in the process of figuring her out, Claude learned more things about himself than he realized and also, possibly uncovered a hidden ongoing scheme that might potentially bring destruction to all of Fodlan.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 18
Kudos: 62





	1. New CO?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to my first ever published fanfiction on AO3. I haven't written in a while so I apologize if this is a little awkward here and there, I'm still adjusting into the flow. Anyway, I've been quite immersed in Claudeleth content recently and I have this story in my head that begs for a creative outlet and it was how this fic came to fruition. I hope you enjoy the ride with me!
> 
> Special mention to [sylphiawings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sylphiawings/pseuds/sylphiawings) who is my main beta-reader and my go-to person when I have to make an idea-dump.

"Greetings, my golden deers!" Claude announced boisterously as he walked out of the elevator, stomping his way merrily through the second floor entrance gate of Leicester's 99th Precinct. Or, as the detective proudly nicknamed them, "The Golden Deers".   
  
  
The nickname came to fruition a year ago after a successful and narrow victory the Leicester Police Department had over the Adrestian and Faerghus PD at a tactical team training. Among those chosen to represent the other counties were Edelgard von Hresvelg of Adrestia and Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd of Faerghus. Those two were famous for stellar convictions and arrests, on par with Claude’s. It was truly the tactical training of the decade, in which the Leicester won by a scrape - because Claude nonchalantly proclaimed rather loudly that he had "poured some laxative" in the fruit punch laid out for that day. Somehow this had successfully riled up many officers of the other teams.

  
As if Claude would really do that. He is an esteemed detective of Fodlan, for stars’ sake.

  
_Or would he?_

  
"Ladies and gentlemen!" said Claude. "I present to you… the sixth wonder of the von Riegan awesomeness! The one and only, Travant the counterfeiter foiled at last!"

  
Claude pulled the handcuffed man behind him forward for everyone to see. The man of sturdy build and green shoulder length huffed exasperatedly at his defeat.

  
Claude takes in the smiles and grins that the office was giving him.

  
"Way to go, Riegan!" He heard Leonie Pinelli, his fellow precinct detective, yell from her desk.

  
"Thank you, Leo," Claude bowed. "And now, Raphael, my friend," Claude turned to the large-built blonde man clad in white shirt and black suspenders, "let's see the scoreboard."

  
Detective Raphael Kirsten gave him a huge grin, stood up from his desk and walked over to the whiteboard not far from where he was stationed. He flipped over the board filled with scribbles of arrest numbers, revealing another side with two columns of tally charts.

  
"It is officially 3 P.M, Wednesday, 29th Blue Sea Moon, a month since the bet was made… and with one more point to Claude this adds up to…" Raphael scribbled a tally on the board, "... 27 arrests for von Riegan and 25 for Gloucester! Claude wins!" he announced.

  
Claps and cheers broke out in the office. Claude twirled and raised his hands victoriously. From the corner of the room, a certain purple-haired man could be seen losing his color by the second, his soul leaving him and his eternal shame.

  
Claude walked over to him and stopped in front of the man's desk with the most wickedly delighted grin. "All right, Gloucester, time to man up and deliver your end of the bargain."

  
Detective Lorenz Gloucester, the man in question, sighed. "Is this really necessary, Riegan? Can't I just pay you money? I have the cash, you know."

  
Claude clicked his tongue in response. "Oh my friend, you know money does not entice me. I need more... _and only you can fulfill that_ ," he said, making his voice purposely sultry towards the end.

  
Lorenz swore by his noble lineage and the most sacred of teas that he will bring upon the worst of revenge upon the smirking man standing in front of him. He regretted ever agreeing to the arrest bet a month ago. Really, he just wanted to prove that he was the better detective and put the crude man in front of him in his place. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out in the end.

  
Lorenz sighed and stood up from where he was sitting. He climbed up his chair and stood on top of it, standing tall from everyone in the room. He sensed all eyes looking at him expectantly.

  
"Hang on, hang on," said Claude suddenly. The olive skinned man pulled out his mobile phone from his jacket pocket and pointed the camera at Lorenz, changing the setting to 'Record'. "Just need to find the perfect lighting and angle here..." he commented, moving around as he searched for a flattering angle of Lorenz’s humiliation. "And we're good to go!"

  
Lorenz sighed for the umpteenth time that day. He took a deep breath and yelled. _"Claude von Riegan is the best detective in the world."_ He paused, looking at Claude.

  
"Aaaand?" Claude sings.

  
Lorenz mumbled a string of curses under his breath. _"And I'm a pretty little girl..."_

  
"Lorenz Gloucester, everyone!" Claude yelled in satisfaction. The entire room clapped and cheered. Lorenz swore he heard whistles. He wanted to bury himself deep in the seventh hell.

  
"All right, that's enough! Everyone back to business," Sergeant Lysithea von Ordelia clapped her hands and yelled, shushing everybody. Everybody piped down at the sound of their sergeant. Despite her fragile-looking appearance, everyone in the 99th Precinct knew she was a force to be reckoned with. Many of them unfortunately discovered it by having a taste of her wrath themselves, by underestimating her. She was, after all, their "demon sergeant".

  
"Claude, good job on the arrest,” Lysithea moved towards Claude, nodding. “Now put the perp in the holding cell and process his paperwork. Everyone else, get in order. Our new commanding officer should be arriving soon."

  
"Oh, is that today?" Claude asks.

  
"Yes," replied Lysithea. "The new CO will drop by for introductions and set up their office today. We will be working with them tomorrow officially."

  
"Man, I don't know why we need a new captain. Virion was a hoot," said Claude.

  
"Virion was a mess and you know it." Lysithea said.

  
"It was the best two months of my working life."

  
"He brought a rubber pool to the office that one time!"

  
"Aw, come on, don't tell me you didn't have fun."

  
"I sure didn't," Lysithea huffed. "I'm sure glad he's out." The small woman then clapped her hand together, excitement brimming on her face. "But! I have a good feeling the new CO will be my new archbishop, my ultimate mentor! I hope they live up to their reputation," she said, her eyes sparkling.

  
"Or maybe another office robot," chimed Claude, "meep mop."

  
He made robotic gestures over Lysithea’s face - who was unamused - as he walked backwards but stopped as he felt something - or someone - hit his back.

  
"Oh sorry, excuse me-" Claude turned around but found his words trailing as his eyes met with a pair of unfamiliar blue eyes. The bluest eyes he has ever seen.

  
Claude took a step back to take a proper look at the person in front of him. It was a woman his age of around his shoulder height. She had blue eyes and blue hair that was tied to a bun, leaving a few strands of hair on each side of her face. Her skin was fair. She had a slim toned figure with curves at the right places. He could tell, even through the police uniform she was wearing. She had both her hands in her pocket and a captain hat pinned under her right arm.

  
A captain hat? Oh. _Oh_.

  
The woman glanced at him blankly then proceeded to walk across the room, heading towards the door of the office that was reserved for their commanding officer. Everyone was silent, their eyes following her every move. The woman stopped a meter before the door and turned around, taking in everyone in the office. She cleared her throat briefly.

  
"Good afternoon everyone," she spoke. Her expression remained steady. Her voice, neither too soft nor heavy, carried a commanding aura with it.

  
"My name is Byleth Eisner,” the woman said.

  
From the moment she spoke, Claude knew. Here's the thing - Claude made a good detective not because he is the most intelligent person in the world (although he is brilliant by nature). No, his skill came with his sharp instincts. He has a knack of sensing when something is off, whether a person is guilty or innocent. Whether something will be wonderful or downright dreadful. Most of the time, his gut is right.

  
And right now, seeing the woman standing in front of everyone made him feel a sensation he never felt before - an excitement that reached to his very bones. 

  
Something interesting will happen.

  
"And I will be your new commanding officer," Byleth concluded.

  
Claude smiled to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things to keep in mind.
> 
> 1\. All the characters are in their mid twenties right now so imagine them in their post-time skip form.  
> 2\. Since all the magical elements of FE doesn't exist in this story, all the characters will retain their original hair colors (i.e: Byleth will remain blue-haired, Edelgard brown etc). Except, we never really know what Lysithea's original hair color is so I kept her hair color naturally silver.


	2. Nightime Interlude

Byleth turned on the lights to her apartment. She walked over to the lone beanbag sitting in the middle of her living room and dropped herself onto it. She sighed and buried herself deeper into the chair.

Her official first day as captain was over.

_Father, I made it._ She thought to herself.

She closed her eyes.

_I'm one step closer to the truth._


	3. Who is Captain Byleth Eisner?

When Claude walked into the precinct on Thursday, he was greeted by an unusual sight waiting for him by his desk. His new commanding officer, Captain Byleth Eisner, was standing by his desk, arms crossed. She was clad in a black tie, white dress shirt and black pants this morning, hair tied to a bun once more.

  
She had a blank expression on her face as she looked at him walking towards her, but, if you squint, there was a hint of irritation on her face.

  
"Detective von Riegan, do you know what time it is?"

  
"Um.." Claude blinked, "It's 9:07 A.M?"

  
"Exactly," Byleth replied. "Work hour commences at 9 A.M and I expect all my officers to be present and ready to work by then. I do not tolerate tardiness."

  
Claude raised his eyebrows. "Stars, Captain, I'm only seven minutes late. Unnecessary to sound like a high school teacher, _Teach_."

  
"I wouldn't have to be if my detectives are not tardy," remarked Byleth. "And, you will address me properly as Captain at all times."

  
"Aye aye Cap'n," Claude mocked-salute. Byleth looked back at him blankly, showing no reaction to his action. Claude wasn't sure what to do next.

  
"See that you arrive on time from tomorrow and sort out your table. It is unsightly," said Byleth sternly before she turned around and walked towards her office door, effectively ending the conversation. Claude looked after her, stunned.

  
"Sergeant von Ordelia, may I see you in my office?" Byleth addressed the silver-haired woman as she opened her office. 

  
"Yes, ma'am!" Lysithea stood up and trailed after Byleth into her office.

  
"Yeesh, that's some harsh treatment," Claude heard a voice next to him. He saw Hilda Valentine Goneril, the assistant, standing next to him, the pink-haired woman throwing him a cocky smile. "Will Prince Charming o' Riegan be able to break the Ice Queen?”

  
Claude scoffed, "Well, if it isn't with my dazzling personality, my arrest numbers can hopefully appease her." He raised an eyebrow at Hilda. "Also, what are you doing here at this time? You are usually way more tardy than I am! It’s _still_ 9 A.M!"

  
"Are you kidding me?" said Hilda. "One look at her yesterday and I know she's someone I shouldn't mess with. I'm the executive assistant; I will be with her a lot. If I’m late, she’ll have my head." She pointed a finger at Claude. "Your guts may be good when it comes to crimes, Claude, but your judgement of character can be way off sometimes."

  
Claude shrugged in response. "You're right, you are the best judge of character around," he said only half-sarcastically. He turned to the closed door of Byleth's office. "So what's your verdict this time, Hil?"

  
Hilda crossed her arms. "Something really complicated, even for you."

_  
Well well_ , Claude thought in his head, _allow me to fix that._

_\--_

"I. Love. Her."

  
Claude could practically see the stars in Lysithea's eyes as she gushed about their new Captain. She, Claude, and Hilda were sitting together at the break room table.

  
"She is calm, composed, smart and a woman to boot! She is my archbishop," Lysithea’s hands folded together in imitation of reverence.

  
"Calm and composed is an understatement," said Claude before biting a piece off his sandwich. He chewed quickly and swallowed. "That poker-face skill is impressive."

  
"She already found around twenty faults in some of the office filing system and provided artful solutions for them! And it hasn’t even been a week since she joined us,” the white-haired sergeant said. “I will ask her to be my mentor," Lysithea exclaimed. She turned to Hilda who was sipping on her soda. "What do you think, Hilda?"

  
Hilda sighed. "I got nothing on her. I spent two hours just now digging social media for anything … literally, _nada_ ," she pouted.

  
Claude's eyes twitched. "... So you didn't process those super urgent documents I gave you earlier?"

  
"Boo, please," Hilda huffed, "This is much more important than that. FYI, Claude, I could do them in my sleep, and besides, they're already in the system. Anyway," Hilda slammed her hands on the table and looked at the two in the room. "Get this. The only thing I can find of her are the personnel records of the Fódlan Kingdom Police Force, and, apart from probably being the youngest person ever to be appointed Captain, she is also related to a former FP Captain, Jeralt Eisner."

  
"Are you serious??" they heard Leonie squeal. The three turned to the door where they saw Leonie, Lorenz, and Raphael, accompanied by their fellow detectives Marianne von Edmund and Ignatz Victor. They all walked in and took the empty seats in the break room.

  
"Who's Jeralt Eisner?" Rapahel asked, dropping his impressive pile of food on the break table.

  
"Wasn't he the captain who suddenly retired at the peak of his career twenty something years ago?" Ignatz fixed the bridge of his glasses.

  
"Yes, and not only that," Leonie began, "He was among the best marksmen ever, hardly missed his shots! _And_ he played an important role in bringing down Nemesis!" She shook her hands excitedly.

  
"The major drug smuggling lord?" asked Ignatz, surprised.

  
"Yes!" Leonie answered excitedly. "My old man told me stories about him. But then, shortly after that, he suddenly retired and somehow disappeared from Fódlan. Ever since then, no one who knew him was able to reach him even until now."

  
"So our captain is the only one who has contact with him?" Lorenz asked whilst sipping his tea.

  
"Not sure about that," Hilda chimed in. "When I went through Captain's profile, she merely listed Jeralt as her relative but never specified their relationship. Her parents' information was left blank," she crossed her arms and leaned back against the chair she was sitting on. "Under the name of emergency contact she listed an Alois Rangeld. I looked him up, and he is a senior sergeant currently stationed in Garreg Mach HQ."

  
"Hilda, how are you not a detective?" Marianne mumbled quietly.

  
"Because, Marianne, darling,” Hilda flicked her hair, “I will be too good at the job. I will leave you all crying." Hilda grinned at the cerulean-haired woman.

  
"I doubt that she's Jeralt's daughter, to be honest," Leonie added. "Jeralt was a tall blonde man and I don't see traces of him on her..."

  
Claude took in all the information silently with detailed attention. He didn't want to admit that he spent last night at his home looking and searching up their new captain only to, like Hilda, find the effort futile. There weren't even tagged photos. It was as if he was searching for a ghost. The information Hilda shared to the group just now was new and it just added to the unknown mystery behind Byleth Eisner.

_  
Mystery upon mystery… how interesting._

_  
"Ahem."_

  
The sound made the entire group jump up and fell silent. They saw Byleth standing by the break room door, expression once more unreadable.

  
"Everyone, I will need you all in the briefing room in ten minutes," she said before walking away.

  
The group looked at each other nervously.


	4. Interlude: Three choices

_ Earlier on Thursday _

  
"That will be all, Sergeant von Ordelia. Make sure those new systems are installed within the next week," said Byleth.

  
"Yes, Captain," Lysithea nodded before standing up.

  
"Oh, and Sergeant..." Byleth called to the silver-haired woman. Lysithea stopped in her tracks and turned to the captain. ”Thank you for your hard work in keeping the 99th Precinct in order."

  
Byleth saw the small woman's eye widen a little before politely saying thank you and walked out of her office. Once she was alone in the room Byleth reached out to the top drawer of her desk, pulled it open and took out three folders. She laid out the three folders open on her desk.

  
There were three different pictures in front of her, one in each folder.

  
In the right folder was the headshot of a blonde man, who had his hair tied into a ponytail. The left-most folder had the picture of a woman, a sharp expression on her face with brown long hair. The folder in the center was a man with tan skin and dark hair. Byleth picked up his picture.

  
"Claude von Riegan," she muttered, "I hope I didn't make the wrong choice by choosing you."

  
She looked outside through the open blinds of her office window and her eyes immediately went to the said detective, sitting at his desk as two female officers chatted with him. They were visibly giggling to something he said.

  
Byleth sighed.

_  
Father. _


	5. Spellworking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some action sequences here. Use of firearms (responsibly) are mentioned in this chapter in case that isn't your cup of tea. No perps were badly maimed in the writing of this chapter.

"So, what's the meeting for, Captain?" Claude asked lightheartedly, his elbow on the table in front of him, his face propped up in his palm.

  
He put up his best nonchalant smile, hoping to mask the edginess his colleagues are feeling right now.

_  
"Oh my gosh! Do you think she heard us?" Hilda whispered to the rest of the group once Byleth was out of earshot from the breakroom. _

_  
"I wouldn't put it past her to not overhear the conversation," Claude shrugged. _

_  
"Everybody. Act. Normal," Lysithea hissed in panic. _

  
Yeah, right. You see, his Golden Deers are capable officers. They have the brains, like Lysithea and Marianne; the brawns, like Raphael and Leonie; and amazing shooters, like Ignatz. Then, there's Lorenz and Hilda whom Claude filed as their own categories. Although Hilda wasn't technically a police officer, she always managed to poke her business into everyone else’s, and oftentimes gave strangely insightful ideas.

  
Their skills aside, most of them were terrible actors, unfortunately. Really, how did a bunch of people who wore their hearts on their sleeves managed to get bunched up into one group? Their tells could be spotted miles away. Claude could already hear the incessant tapping of Leonie's fingers, and the nervous laughter Raphael gave out as he greeted the Captain who had just entered the briefing room. Lorenz was over-complimenting her appearance, that loser. Ignatz was as stiff as a rock, Marianne's eyes were more downcast than usual, and Lysithea's expression was a mess.

  
The only ones who managed to hold their cool among those present in the briefing room were him and Hilda. Hilda, because she has years of practice perfecting her fake cries, fake sudden appointments, and fake sickness in order to get out of her duties.

  
As for himself? Well, let's just say his whole life has been a performance one after another.

  
"Squad," Byleth addressed the room, breaking Claude's trail of thoughts. He redirected his attention to Byleth.

  
"We just received a call from one of our dispatchers. Apparently two wanted robbers were spotted in an abandoned factory on the 7th Avenue. They are most likely armed."

  
The mounted screen behind the blue-haired captain lit up, revealing the location of said building in Derdriu. Byleth tapped on her clicker and the screen changed into a blueprint.

  
"I've taken the liberty of obtaining the building map from Urban Planning," Byleth continued. "Thankfully, since it was a small paper-making factory, the building itself is easy to cover. Two entrances front and back, a fire escape scaling the front, and sewage system that leads to a manhole on the street across."

  
"Ah, manhunt, fun," Claude chimed in and chuckled. He saw his captain give him a short look before resuming her commands to the squad.  _ Unreadable as always, _ he thought.

  
"I need every exit guarded and covered. Detective von Riegan, you will cover the back with Sergeant von Ordelia and Detective Kirsten. Detective Gloucester, you will come from the front with Detective Pinelli. Detective von Edmund will guard the manhole and Detective Victor will mark the targets from the building across for unexpected movements."

  
Marianne lifted her head up in surprise at the mention of being put in the field, something she found previous commanding officers were reluctant to do as they saw her meek personality. Before she was about to comment, Byleth gave a small smile at her direction, as if she was reading her mind.

  
"Don't worry, you will be within sight of Detective Victor at all times and many officers will be with you as back-up. You will be fine," Byleth assured her. Marianne gave a small nod in response, albeit still looking unsure on how she should feel about being in the field.

  
Claude was surprisingly impressed with his new captain's unit arrangement choices. She covered all the basics, chose optimal pairing synergies. Either it was a ridiculously lucky coincidence or the captain has been studying them beforehand. In which case, why? Her choice to put Marianne in the field was interesting as well. Claude knew despite Marianne's seemingly meek personality, she was more capable than she claimed to be. But did Captain Eisner, who has merely worked with them for a few hours, know that? Was she testing them?

  
"Don't worry, Marianne, I'm sure you'll do great!" Hilda, who sat beside Marianne, said in a singing tone as she patted the other woman's shoulder.

  
"Yeah, let's put some bad guys behind bars!" Raphael said excitedly, slamming his fists on the table in front of him.

  
"All right, everyone, time to get to your stations," Byleth nodded. "Dismissed."

  
\---

It was an old and run-down neighborhood. Some small shops were around aged apartment buildings. Overall, a perfect hideout location for those who wanted to remain out of sight. The factory was a two story building with broken wooden fence around it.

  
Claude, Lysithea and Raphael quickly crept to the back of the building, hands placed on the guns on their waist.

  
"By the way, Claude, you were surprisingly quiet in the briefing just now. Usually you'd be busy butting in your own schemes," Lysithea whispered. Claude signaled Raphael to stand across the back door, ready to break it down. He and Lysithea stood against the sides of the door, guns ready in hand.

  
"She planned a solid tactic, there's nothing more I can add," Claude answered back in equally low volume. He smirked at Lysithea. "Might take up your idea on making her my mentor as well, Sarge."

  
"No way! I have dibs on her," the silver-haired woman hissed. Lysithea then nodded at Raphael who immediately rushed towards the door. The door easily gave in under the sheer force and impact against the large man. The three officers went in, each had their gun out in front of them pointed at different sides of the room.

  
"Okay, let's spread out," instructed Claude. The group of three dispersed. Claude carefully headed to the right area of the building. It was dark, save for glimmers of sunlight that filtered in from the cracks from the panelled windows. There were parts of metal equipment strewn around and a few chairs and tables in disarray. 

  
The air was stale. It was quiet. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness Claude saw no visible sign of life but the prickling feeling at the back of his neck told him otherwise. Sighing, he proceeded to kick and hit several objects around him. He then stopped.

_  
Three. Two. One. _

  
A rustling sound. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow dashing deeper into the house.

  
"Lysithea!" Claude yelled.

  
At the mention of her name, Lysithea turned around and saw the silhouette of a figure barrelling towards her. She saw the glint of a knife.

  
"Oh, for god's sake," she muttered. Before the mysterious attacker reached her, Lysithea zipped towards the figure, ducking in time to avoid the sharp blade and threw a punch directly to her attacker's neck. The figure recoiled in surprise, releasing a guttural groan before gasping for air. It was undoubtedly a man's voice. At this chance, Lysithea grabbed the knife from him.

  
"Raphael!" Lysithea called out.

  
"On it!" Raphael roared as he rushed towards the paralyzed man, pinned him down and cuffed him. "We got him!" the large man exclaimed.

  
Claude walked over to the two, clapping all the while in exaggeration. He stopped in time to avoid the flying bucket thrown directly at him from the petite sergeant.

  
"This is the twentieth time you've used me as decoy for catching perps. When I actually get hurt I'm going to hunt your soul and lock it up in Hades for eternity," Lysithea seethed.

  
Claude pouted. "But it's so much fun seeing the criminals realize that you're the stronger one between the three of us."

  
Lysithea sighed in defeat.

  
\---

When Claude, Raphael and Lysithea returned to the designated meeting point with their criminal, they were greeted with Leonie and Lorenz chatting to Byleth, the second thief cuffed and guarded next to Leonie.

  
"Captain, you're here," Claude greeted in a cheerful tone. "Checking up on your ducklings?"

  
Byleth gave a small smile to the three as she saw them with the defeated thief. "You caught both of them. Good job everyone."

  
"Took you guys long enough," Lorenz gloated, looking at Claude specifically. "We found this guy in no time."

  
"He's no match for our brawns and brains," Leonie grinned following Lorenz's cue.

  
"Well, we would be here faster if we didn't decide to double-check the area one more time," Claude shrugged in response. He saw Ignatz walking over towards them from the building across.

  
"No suspicious activities detected, Captain," the green-haired detective informed them as he reached the group.

  
Byleth nodded. "Okay, let's head back to the prec--"

  
A scream was heard, cutting her off. Everyone turned to the source of the scream. It was Marianne. Next to the manhole she was supposed to guard, an unidentified man had his arm around her shoulder, his other hand holding a gun to her head.

  
Claude cursed under his breath.  _ Shit, there's a third. Where did he come from?  _

  
Immediately, everyone pointed their guns towards the assailant, a chorus of "don't move" and "put your weapons down!" can be heard around. 

  
"Let my buddies go or I'll shoot her," demanded the man.

  
Claude frowned. A stand-off. The assailant's proximity to Marianne was too close for them to make any shots at him but he was also at a disadvantage if he made any sudden moves. It was a test of will.

  
"Ow!" Claude heard Leonie yell. He saw the thief she was guarding breaking free from her and walked towards Marianne and the mysterious man, hands still cuffed. The other thief within Raphael's grasp tried to do the same but failed miserably under the large man's crushing strength.

_  
This isn't looking good. _

  
Before Claude could come up with a strategy he saw Byleth walk towards Marianne and the man, her right hand hovering over the gun kept on her waist.

  
"You move one more step and I'll shoot her!" the man holding Marianne hostage threatened, pushing the barrel of the gun harder against Marianne's head. Byleth stopped at her tracks.

  
"Detective von Edmund," Byleth spoke, her voice steady, "do not move."

  
What happened next was a blur to Claude. He saw his captain pull out her gun from its holster. He heard the click of the safety being turned off.

  
Three shots. Bang. Bang. Bang.

  
"Marianne, run now!" Byleth commanded. Marianne loosened herself from the man and ran towards the group of detectives, unscathed. At the same time, Claude saw Byleth charging towards the gun-man, taking advantage of his momentary stupor and tackled him, pinning him face flat on the ground with one hand. With her gun in the other hand, Byleth took aim at the cuffed thief who attempted to escape. She released a shot and the thief fell as the bullet visibly wounded one of his calves.

  
"Whoaa…" the group of officers muttered in unison, looks of awe on their faces.

  
In the midst of the flurry, the captain's tied up hair had unwound itself. A breeze blew gently against her shoulder-length, wavy hair. The gentle orange sunset danced delicately on her pale skin.

  
In Claude's twenty-six years of life he never thought he would view anything in life as more than it is. But here, for the first time in his life, his breath was taken away, entranced by a real life magic presented to him in the form of Captain Byleth Eisner. Claude von Riegan, king of rethorics, was, for once, out of words.

_  
Whoa, indeed. _


	6. S-take me out tonight

Captain Byleth Eisner has been appointed as commanding officer of Derdriu 99th Precinct for a week and a half now. Within that span of time she has managed to charm practically the entire building.

  
Captain Eisner has proven that she is a very capable commanding officer who takes her job very seriously. Claude discovered this the hard way last Friday when he came in to work five minutes late and Byleth assigned him to a weekend duty of filing work, much to Hilda's delight. 

  
Not only that, she has also shown to care deeply about the well-being of her officers, despite her apparent stoic demeanor. After the robbery incident, Byleth would frequently check on Marianne's mental state, ensuring that she's up for the task at hand before assigning them to her and letting Marianne know of her strengths. She never turned away anyone who asked her questions, answering them to the best of her ability no matter how ridiculous the query was. She even took Hilda as her personal assistant after noticing that, despite her lack of motivation to work, nobody knows efficiency like Hilda, and no one else in the office knows everyone's business like Hilda.

  
( _ Ugh, constantly getting the captain's approval is the worst,  _ Hilda texted Claude on Tuesday, but he knows she's secretly delighted at this fact).

  
There wasn't a day in which Byleth isn't with an officer who asked her for her guidance, or for her help to put out a fire, or just asking her to have tea while talking battle tactics. (She was apparently quite a tea aficionado and this delighted Lorenz a great deal.)

  
At least, that's what Claude heard from his deers, anyway. Claude had been on a stake-out duty most of the week so he had been away from the office for the majority of his time. Much to his disappointment, he wasn't able to find time to build a personal rapport with the  _ stellar _ new captain. But, the testimonies he heard doesn't seem baseless; the couple of times he briefly returned to the precinct during the week, he hardly ever saw her alone, always preoccupied in meetings after meetings. 

  
Well, there's always tomorrow.

\---

_ Friday _

  
Claude dropped himself in his desk chair and stretched. Today was another day of stake-out, thankfully scheduled in the evening. He hoped this would be the last leg of a long week.

  
"Hey, leader-man," said Hilda, walking over to his desk. "Rough week?"

  
"Yeah," Claude uttered while rubbing the back of his neck. "Drug bust - you know how it is. I'm hoping today my perp will finally meet with his supplier."

  
"Yeah, I really don't want to know or think about it," the pink-haired woman rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the captain wants to see you."

  
"Oh yeah?" Claude said, perking up.

  
"Go to her before she makes you do my loadwork again," Hilda sneered.

\---

  
"Knock knooock," said Claude playfully as he entered Byleth's office. "You called for me, Capt?"

  
The blue-haired captain looked up from the documents that were on the desk in front of her. Her piercing blue eyes met Claude's emerald ones.

_  
Unreadable as always _ , Claude thought.

  
"Have a seat, Detective," Byleth nodded at the seat across her. Claude moved to the aforementioned place and sat down.

  
"How is the drug investigation going?" Byleth asked bluntly as soon as he sat.

  
"You're very straightforward, aren't you, Captain?" Claude gave Byleth a coy smile. "No, ‘ _ how are you, Detective Riegan? _ ’, first?"

  
Byleth blinked at him. "I'm only asking what's pertinent to the situation at hand. Is there a problem with that?"

  
She tilted her head sideways slightly as she asked and Claude couldn't help but give a small laugh at her reaction.

  
"Relax, Capt, I'm just kidding," the dark-haired detective chuckled. His expression then shifted into a more serious disposition.

  
"I’ve kept surveillance on him since Monday and monitored all outgoing and incoming calls. I think tonight he will meet with his supplier. Someone called  _ Jeritza _ .”

  
At the mention of the name, Claude noticed the captain’s expression changed slightly.

  
“Are you familiar with the name, Captain?” asked Claude.

  
Byleth leaned back a little into her chair, arms crossed. "I confess, I may have been looking at a case that is at crossroads with yours before I was stationed here."

  
That took Claude by surprise. "May I know why, Cap?"

  
Byleth shrugged. "Simply because I believe it leads to a larger drug ring." Before Claude could ask further questions, Byleth added, "My findings came to a stop at Jeritza.But before I could do further research to solidify the links, I was transferred here and I haven't been able to work on it since then."

  
Claude had a feeling that the captain was only telling half of the truth. But he also sensed that he wasn't privy to the actual reasons. Not just yet, anyway.

  
"Well then, Captain, would you like to accompany me for my stake-out tonight?" Claude found himself asking. Curiosity killed the cat, after all, and his new captain is dangling an irresistible bait right in front of him. 

  
Byleth didn't speak for a few seconds. 

  
"Sure, Detective, I'd be happy to," she answered.

  
Claude had to force himself to kick down the feeling of excitement that bubbled within him.

  
\---

_ Later that evening _

  
No movement in sight. The street corner was empty save for the lone streetlight that stood tall on the pavement edge, two moths flying around its soft dim light.

_  
Bzzzzzz bzzzzt! _

  
Claude cursed under his breath and pulled down the binoculars he was using as he felt his phone vibrate for the umpteenth time in his pocket. Honestly, he was never this popular before.

  
"Sorry, let me put this on silent," Claude muttered to Byleth, who was sitting in his car's passenger seat. The captain nodded briefly at him.

  
When Claude unlocked his phone, he deadpanned. A sea of texts from the "deers" engulfed his screen.

  
Lysithea: _ I can't BELIEVE you get to go on a stakeout with her. _

  
Lysithea: _ That should be ME. _

  
Lysithea: _ DON'T FORGET TO TAKE NOTES!! _

  
Leonie: _ Yoo Claude if she does something cool again take videos 4 me 4 future pointers _

  
Lorenz: _ Please do not offend her by unleashing your prude and childish behavior, a refined lady like her deserves the company of a much more refined detective. _

  
Raphael: _ Let me know if yall need backup! _

  
Ignatz: _ Available for back up _

  
Marianne: _ Umm..tell the captain to be careful _

  
Hilda:  _ ;) ;) _

  
Claude raised an eyebrow at Hilda's message. What did she even mean by that?

  
"You're very in-demand, Detective," Byleth uttered, giving Claude her signature blank look. But, if Claude squinted, he could detect a hint of playful gleam in her eyes.

  
" _ Au contraire, _ Captain," remarked Claude, meeting her gaze, "everyone's just giving their regards to you through me."

  
Byleth gave him a slightly puzzled look but didn't say anything in response. She returned her gaze to her front, assessing her surroundings once more.

  
"I see you’re as stony-faced as usual,” Claude said. “Hmm. I can’t tell if you’re feeling resigned or if you’re just lost in thought. Or maybe you simply don’t care about anything that’s going on," he remarked, not hiding the fact that his eyes were still fixed on her face. Byleth gave a small frown at his comment, her gaze remaining to her front. "Oh… Sorry. I really didn’t mean to be rude. I just find you fascinating. Despite your personality, you actually attract people to yourself," Claude continued.

  
"Just because I don't show emotions doesn't mean I'm emotionless, Detective," Byleth spoke. "Also, please focus on the case at hand instead of trying to guess my thoughts."

  
Claude laughed lightly in response and redirected his gaze to their stake-out target location. "You really don't hold any punches though. I appreciate you for that." 

  
He paused before starting once more.

  
"I'm sure you are familiar with my family name, Captain."

  
Byleth nodded. "von Riegan - you are the grandson of the current reigning Duke of Leicester."

  
Claude hummed in confirmation at her answer. "When I joined the forces, I moved to several different precincts because people were approaching me with ulterior motives. Colleagues and superiors alike, they saw me as a status quo and not a person. Some even downright hated me because of it, thinking I have things easy because of my lineage."

  
Claude leaned back against his seat and scoffed, "How far from the truth that was. Then two years ago I became a detective and joined the 99th. These bunch of people were different - they saw me for me. Even Lorenz, who thinks highly of nobility and lineage. So, for the first time, I chose to stay."

  
The detective rubbed the back of his neck. "Superior officers, though, were… a whole different story. Up until now, our captains were biased towards my name. They would give me good cases, trying to personally help me move up faster than others and get merits from my family. The others were never resentful towards me for it, but I didn't want this at all. I wanted to be treated just like everyone else."

  
Claude stretched his arms before crossing them across his chest. "So you see... The moment I noticed a captain has intentions… I tend to do  _ something _ about it."

  
Byleth turned to Claude in disbelief. "You didn't--"

  
Claude looked back at his captain and saw the slight bewilderment on her face. "No, no, Not the way that you think," he waved his hand in affirmation. "I didn't use my family ties to get rid of them - that goes against everything I believed in by achieving things by my own effort. No… I simply make them turn into willfully incompetent commanders by observing their weaknesses and use it against them."

  
Byleth sighed. "So  _ that's _ why the 99th has one of the highest turnover rates of captains within two years."

  
Claude grinned at her realization. "It normally takes me a couple of days to spot their motives. Then a month or two of scheming ‘til they either had enough, or the office became too dysfunctional."

  
The dark-haired man placed his gaze upon the blue-haired captain. "But you're not like that," he started. "You reprimanded me when you said you would, and you give your time equally to everyone regardless of rank or title. You are clearly competent as well. Not to mention impossible to read."

  
He smiled, a genuine smile that reached his eyes. "This is the first time I haven't planned on foiling a commanding officer. You might just belong with us after all."

  
Byleth’s eyes widened slightly at Claude's declaration and a soft smile appeared on her lips.

  
"I have met all sorts of people in the past," she spoke. “In the end everyone has something they love, something they're good at, people they hold tight in their hearts."

  
Byleth averted her eyes from Claude's and let her gaze fall on her lap.

  
"Without class societies, without borders, we all have so much in common to each other than we think. That's why I believe everyone deserves equal benefit of the doubt no matter who they are or where they are from."

  
Claude inhaled sharply without realizing. This was the second time the woman in front of him managed to render him speechless. The words that came out of her mouth came upon him like a downpour after a long drought. Words that he needed to hear from someone else apart from himself. They were no mere pretty words she uttered in the moment - but a profession of a deep-rooted belief from experience, of an outsider looking in. How does she do this to him so easily?

  
"Claude," Byleth suddenly muttered and nodded to the direction of their observation target. Her eyes became sharp and guarded once more, losing the hints of vulnerability from moments before. "They're here."

  
Claude turned to the direction the police captain pointed. There, behind the lone streetlight, were two silhouettes. Claude looked through his binoculars. A familiar man with unruly dark hair was talking with a taller man Claude didn't recognize. He was clad in all black and kept his long ash-brown hair in a ponytail.

  
"It's them," Claude confirmed.

  
The two immediately jumped out of the car and dashed as quietly as they could to the two suspects, hands hovering on their gun holsters. They were noticed by the suspects once they were only a few feets away. Claude saw them scramble away from him and Byleth. Jeritza, being the taller, bigger man, was faster than the other one.

  
"Captain, I'll chase after Jeritza, you take the other one!" Claude shouted. Before Byleth could respond, Claude dashed after the long-haired man. It didn't take him long to catch up to him; Claude was quick on his feet, figuratively and literally.

  
"Police! Stop where you are!" the detective yelled. He took out his gun and shot two rounds at him, purposely missing the man he was chasing but close enough to falter him in his steps. The few seconds it gave was enough for Claude to catch up and throw a tackle to Jeritza from the back, pinning him underneath with his body weight. After a minute of struggle, Jeritza yielded, allowing Claude to handcuff his hands behind his back.

  
The detective huffed in relief. He looked back to where he left Byleth and the other perp. As expected, the captain had already cuffed him next to her. She gave a nod at Claude and he nodded back at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A+ for you if you can recognize actual Claude support quotes.


	7. Interlude: Hidden Motives

Two-and-a-half kilograms of cocaine and a burner phone. Not a bad turnout, even if Byleth says so herself.

  
"Please make sure to put these evidence away securely, Officer Cyril," she told the dark-haired officer.

  
"Yes, Captain," Cyril nodded with enthusiasm. He immediately turned to work on labeling the bag of white powder laid on the evidence room scale.

  
Byleth walked out of the room, but not before she gave one last glance at the officer at work. He's eager, detail-oriented and a hard-worker. She sensed great potential from him. Byleth took note to keep him in mind for upcoming promotions.

  
She headed to the interrogation room's observation side and stopped behind the double sided mirror, looking at Jeritza, who was sitting in the interrogation room alone.

  
A mug suddenly came into her line of vision. 

  
"Here you go," a deep voice said. Byleth shifted her gaze to her right and was met with Claude holding the mug to her. "I'd make you coffee but it's late and I heard you're quite a fan of tea."

  
Byleth took the mug from his hand, inhaling the gentle scent of tea wafting out of it before taking a sip. "Chamomile, my favorite. Thank you, Riegan," Byleth smiled at Claude.

  
"We have that in common, then," Claude gave Byleth a chuckle. "Also, none of that Detective von Riegan business. It's Claude."

  
Byleth blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

  
"Ah," she saw the detective avert his eyes away from her. "I heard you call me Claude earlier in the field and I think I like that better. I mean, we're around the same age, after all, so there's no need for such formalities. Oh, don't worry,” he quickly added, “I'll still call you Captain."

  
Claude really talks a lot, Byleth observed. However, seeing the grown man carrying on and trailing his words like that made her see a boyish charm on him that she finds endearing. Byleth couldn't help but give a small laugh.

  
"Well, look at that - I got an emotion out of you," he smirked in satisfaction.

  
Byleth scoffed. "Don't get used to it."

  
Silence danced between them for a few seconds.

  
"He said his supply comes from Agartha," Claude stated, breaking the silence.

  
"The infamous drug ring that supposedly stemmed from Nemesis," Byleth remarked, frowning a little.

  
Claude nodded. "You were right - this has become a major drug ring case."

  
Byleth felt a sense of relief wash over her. Simultaneously, a feeling of anxiety and dread began to creep in. She was on the right track, but what's next? She didn't have a chance to think this far ahead yet.

  
"Captain?" Claude called her, breaking her trail of thoughts. "Would you like to be my partner for this case?"

  
And just like that, the answer to her dilemma came to her. Byleth's eyes met with Claude's, and, gosh, they are really green. He looked back at her with intense seriousness. "You were researching the case before as well, right? It makes sense if we work on it together." Claude threw a wink at Byleth. "Two heads are better than one."

  
Byleth thought for a bit. Yes it does make sense. Even though her eventual goal in pursuing this case differs from Claude's, the path that she must go through is the same as his. Admittedly, the man in front of her was the reason she chose this precinct in the first place.

  
Byleth set her mug down on the nearby table and turned to Claude. "Looking forward to working with you, partner," she answered with a small smile, stretching out her right hand for a handshake. 

  
Claude mirrored her smile and grasped her outstretched hand. "Same here," he replied. Their hands remained interlinked for a few more seconds before Byleth pulled back.

  
"You can go home now, Claude," said Byleth. "I have some things to finish here. I'll make sure Jeritza will be in the cell later."

  
The detective leaned back. "Are you sure?" Claude asked, protesting slightly. "It's already late, Captain, I can do this if you want."

  
Byleth shook her head. "You've had a long week already. Go home and enjoy your weekend."

  
Claude scratched his head. "Well if you say so… Good night, Captain."

  
Claude walked out of the room. Byleth looked on as Claude disappeared into the hallways, listening as his footsteps gradually faded. Once she was certain he was out of the precinct, Byleth headed into the interrogation room. She took the empty seat across Jeritza. The man across her looked back with calculating eyes. Byleth took note of the diamond-like intricate insignia brandished on the back of the man's right hand.

  
"The other cop already asked everything I could already answer. I have nothing more to say to you," Jeritza remarked flatly.

  
"I want to know something else from you," Byleth responded. She pulled out a folded piece of paper from her breast pocket and laid it out on the table between them. On it was a single image, many different wavy lines intersecting together, forming the image of a flame.

  
"What do you know about followers of Sothis and the Church of Seiros?" Byleth asked. She saw Jeritza frown at the insignia in front of him. "That mark on your hand tells me you know something," she added.

  
"You are aware of what this is?" Jeritza asked, gesturing towards the mark on his hand.

  
"Lamine," Byleth answered without skipping a beat.

  
Jeritza scoffed. "I will let you know, you are seeking death chasing that."

  
"I have nothing to lose," Byleth spoke.

\---

Unknown to Byleth, Claude was watching quietly from behind the viewing mirror. 

_  
Church of Seiros? _

  
He gritted his teeth.

_  
What are you really after Captain? _

  
He couldn’t ignore the feeling of dread that crept up within him.


	8. A Golden Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bonding day between the deers and Byleth!
> 
> Note: Jeralt is still Byleth's dad. However, there's a reason why she's extremely elusive on her specific relationship with him.

Claude wasn't sure how this turned into a precinct field trip.

  
It started two weeks ago, when Hilda asked the captain to go to the shooting range with her and Marianne.

_  
"Oh Captaaaaaain~!" Hilda sang, walking towards Byleth while dragging Marianne by the arm behind her. Three weeks into working with the 99th, Byleth is now more or less accustomed to Hilda's antics._

_  
"So, listen," said the pink haired woman, putting her arms around Marianne's shoulder. "Marianne here is thinking of working on her shooting technique and I'm also thinking of actually getting certified for once."_

_  
Marianne visibly blushed out of embarrassment._

_  
"Soooo… we want to know if you're willing to come and help us with that, since you are such a great shooter," Hilda said gleefully._

_  
Byleth blinked for a second. "Well, I don't see the harm in that," she replied. "I don't have time this week, but I am free next weekend?"_

_  
"That's perfect!" Hilda gushed, clapping her hands together in enthusiasm._

_  
"Hang on! I'm coming too!" Lysithea exclaimed from her desk._

_  
"Ooh this seems fun! I'll tag along as well," Leonie chimed in. "Lorenz, you wanna come?" the orange haired detective asked Lorenz who was in the middle of sipping his tea by the office pantry._

_  
“Hmm,” Lorenz hummed in thought, “I suppose sharpening my skills is a fine way to spend my free time.”_

_  
At that, Raphael, who was raiding the office refrigerator, popped his head out from the fridge door. “Whoa, if everyone is going, then I’m coming too,” he said, shutting the door while towing a big piece of meatloaf in his arms. “Ignatz, you in?”_

_  
Ignatz stopped his typing momentarily and looked up from his desktop monitor. “Sure, I’d love to improve my techniques,” the green haired detective replied while giving a small nod._

_  
Claude arched an eyebrow at this development. It was impressive that this group of people who practically lived in the office still wanted to spend time with each other during their free time. Then again, he found it hard to resist the notion of seeing first-hand how their new captain would be outside of their professional setting. An intrigue that stemmed purely for future professional benefits (in other words, schemes). Nothing else, of course._

_  
“Well then, can’t have the golden deers go without their leading man,” Claude muttered and drew a lazy smile._

  
And that was how he ended up here. Claude turned off his car engine. He looked at the smart-watch on his right wrist. He was five minutes late than the agreed meeting time. 

  
Oh well, it wasn’t as if it was work-related. 

  
He turned the rear-view mirror towards him, checking and smoothing stray strands of his thick, dark hair. He hovered his finger over the lobe of his left ear, making sure the earring he normally wore around it (when he’s off duty) was securely fastened. Claude scoffed to himself. Really, who was he trying to impress?

  
He got out of his car and walked towards the lobby of the recreation facility. When he entered, he could immediately hear the familiar ruckus he was accustomed to hearing back at work. He headed to the direction of the noise. There, he saw his golden deers near the front desk; the women sat on the sofa and chairs while the men stood nearby them. 

  
Claude spotted Byleth, who was sitting on a long sofa, Leonie and Hilda sitting on either side. She was giving her focus to Lysithea who was telling the group an anecdote. The captain wore her hair in a loose braid which fell on one of her shoulders. She wore a fitting black short-sleeved shirt, white jeans and black shoes. A black leather jacket covered her shoulders in almost a cape-like fashion. She had a small pink cross-body bag and a chain attached to a ring hanging loosely around her neck. 

  
Seeing her like this, no one could tell that the woman is a police captain - and that she bore the responsibility of an entire precinct. Aside from her signature stoic face, Claude could appreciate how being out of her normal uniform enhanced her feminine side. And she did look… nice.

  
"About time you're here, Riegan," he heard Lorenz sneer, breaking his trail of thought.

  
Claude shrugged in response. "Sorry, I had to refuel on the way."

  
His eyes met Byleth's. The captain looked back at him, a small smile across her face. "Hello, Claude."

  
The moment his name came out of her lips, Claude felt something stir within him - which he immediately put out no sooner than it appeared. Was there something different in the way she spoke today? Does a simple change of appearance alter the way a person speaks? The sun outside must be getting to him.

  
“I hope you won’t give me extra paperwork load for being late, Cap,” Claude threw a smirk at Byleth. 

  
The blue-haired captain tilted her head slightly in response, a hint of amusement dancing on her face. “Only if you have arrived five minutes later.”

  
The detective couldn’t help but chuckle at her response.

  
“All right! Now that Claude is here, _finally_ ,” Lysithea spoke, standing from the chair she sat on and all the while threw a pointed glare at Claude, “shall we get going?”

  
Everyone murmured their agreement and trailed after the small sergeant’s lead. Hilda was last to leave from her spot, but not before she gave Claude a knowing look. Claude met her stare and mouthed a silent _‘what’_ to the pink haired woman. Hilda merely threw a coy smile at his direction before she trailed after the others.

\---

Claude found out that not only did Byleth excel on the field, she also excelled in theory and teaching as well. 

  
It only took the captain a couple of minutes of observing the squad as they practiced in the range to figure out each of their weaknesses and strengths. Lysithea’s aim and form were great but she needed more practice when it came to moving targets. Leonie has a solid sense of aim in both types of target, however, she was a little rigid in her form. Raphael has a tendency to be a little trigger-happy and his aiming needed work. (Then again, the large man generally preferred to use his fists than a firearm.) Ignatz was generally skilled all around with his gun, although, according to Byleth, he faltered often under pressure. Marianne has the innate skill to be a capable shooter if only she carries herself with more weight. Hilda was… surprisingly (and almost scarily) natural with handling firearms.

  
“My brother taught me a few things when I was younger,” Hilda gloated.

  
For all their faults, Byleth quickly came up with practical suggestions on how to fix them, and in no time, everybody found themselves improving and hitting their targets more consistently.

  
_("Dang Teach, you're pretty amazing," Claude couldn't help but compliment, earning him a quiet ‘thank you’ from Byleth.)_

  
As for Lorenz and Claude himself, both of them have minor posture issues which were quick fixes. Granted, they both were known to be the best on field within the precinct.

  
“Care to make it interesting, Claude?” Lorenz turned to the Riegan family heir.

  
Claude raised an eyebrow at him. “Sure, what do you have in mind?”

  
“Best out of twenty to hit the target is the winner."

  
Claude smirked, excited at the challenge. "Loser pays for everyone's lunch?"

  
"Start saving your money, von Riegan." The gun in Lorenz’s hand clicked as he replaced its cartridge.

  
"Are they always like this?" Byleth leaned over and whispered to Hilda as she watched the competition between the two detectives unravel.

  
Hilda nodded and sighed in resignation. "The never-ending feud between the two top dogs of Leicester PD. I think their competitiveness also stems from the fact their two families are the ones in favor of leading the region. Safe to say, though..." Hilda trailed off as she watched Claude mutter something to Lorenz as the Gloucester heir was about to shoot his next round. It was quiet enough that what he said was unintelligible to the spectators, but it made the violet-haired detective flustered and missed his mark giving Claude a point advantage. "...Lorenz hasn't been able to win against Claude so far."

  
After a round of firing, the shooting stopped.

  
Claude turned to the group, showing a proud grin.

  
"Lunch is on Lorenz!"

  
Everybody, save for the defeated Lorenz, cheered.

\---

The group had moved over to the restaurant facility of the range, it being conveniently a part of one of the biggest (and notoriously exclusive) recreation clubs in Derdriu. In the spirit of celebrating the Captain's one month with the precinct (and absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Lorenz was paying), Claude proposed that they eat at the more luxurious dining option within the club, to which everyone enthusiastically agreed. Byleth, who evidently felt pity for Lorenz, told them there was no need for such festivity but there was no stopping Claude when he was determined.

  
And so, there they were, sitting together around a long rectangular dining table, covered with white table cloth, small candles lined up along the middle, with a beautifully intricate flower arrangement in its center. There were chandeliers, golden coated walls and orchestral music playing through the speakers. All in all, a kind of place Claude would not frequent even if his life depended on it - but this particular occasion called for it.

They were all severely underdressed for the place as a group, topped with the fact that they came by without reservations. But protocols can be overruled when it was a group with the grandson of Duke Riegan as well as the son of Count Gloucester; not to mention children from the family of Goneril, Odelia and Edmund, the top influential families within Leicester, politically and financially. The manager was more than happy to set up an impromptu table at the private dining room for them.

  
Family ties rule sometimes.

  
"Captain, if you don't mind me asking, how did you become a captain at your age?"

  
It was Lysithea who raised the question.

  
Byleth paused from cutting her food from where she sat at the head of the table.

  
"Well, I'm not sure if it's such an interesting story," Byleth muttered in response.

  
"Nonsense! We would love to know all the obstacles you climbed to reach where you are," Lysithea exclaimed. Realizing her over-excitement, Lysithea cleared her throat and changed her posture to a more composed manner. "I mean, that is, if you are willing to share, of course, I did not mean to pry if it's too personal --I apologize if I did -- I mean, I wanted to make captain at your age as well so I thought it will make a great example in my life and--"

  
"What our Sergeant here is _trying_ to say," Claude chimed in from where he sat next to Byleth, cutting off the small sergeant's rambling and earning him a glare from Lysithea, "is that we all look up to you and would love to learn from your life, if you're okay with it."

  
Byleth turned to him, slight apprehension dancing on her face.

  
Claude placed his face in the palm of his right hand. "It's better that we hear from you directly than us speculating unnecessarily, right?" he added.

  
Byleth gazed around the table. Everyone's attention was directed at her, like fawns waiting for their mother.

  
"Well," Byleth started, a little hesitant, "I was initially trained for the Fodlan Guard track..."

  
"I expected that!" Leonie blurted. Byleth gave a light chuckle to the orange-haired detective.

  
The Fodlan Guard was the most elite branch in the region's military and security system, consisting of the most capable individuals. The training regime to be eligible for one spans years, often with low graduation rate. Most of Fodlan Guards became security aides to important and distinguished members of society.

  
"But I suppose that was not the beginning," the captain continued.

  
And so she began on how since she was young, she has been taught martial arts and firearms by her father, who moved places frequently for his job and took her with him, as they didn't have other relatives she can stay with. “I never knew my mother - she died shortly after giving birth to me,” she explained. Byleth had been homeschooled all her life, due to the nature of her father's work. 

  
“My father... unfortunately died from an accident when I was fifteen. Afterwards, I was taken in by Alois Rangeld, who was a close friend of his."

  
Claude noted how her normally stoic expression turned visibly downcast as she recalled memories of her father. He felt for her. To grow up in loneliness with little whom you can depend on was something he understood very well. And to lose the one thing that has been your single pedestal in the midst of the solitude… well, Claude has never been there, but he could imagine how heavy a burden it was to find a reason to get up the next day.

  
Byleth continued on - re-telling how she was enrolled in Garreg Mach's Police Academy at seventeen, a little earlier than the general enrollment age thanks to Alois' connection. Despite that, she managed to follow and pass all lessons and tests.

  
"My classmates, I think, were apprehensive of me. I've overheard rumors circling that my grades were due to my connection with Alois or former Captain Jeralt Eisner. I… haven't even seen him anymore since my father died."

  
Ah, an answer to how she was related to Jeralt. However, Claude could tell that Jeralt was someone important to her through the downcast expression in her eyes. Claude also noticed that, apart from Alois, Byleth never mentioned any other person in her life. Was she never able to make any friends during her time at the academy? Did her classmates really shun her off all those times? The thought of it made Claude's blood boil a little.

  
The captain continued on as she recalled finding great satisfaction in field duty and helping the community. She decided to change track and ignore her potential post as Fodlan Guard for an Adestrian noble, and became a regular officer instead.

  
"According to Alois, due to my training as Fodlan Guard I'm generally overqualified to start off as anything lower than a lieutenant, which I was for about a year in Garreg Mach. He made me take the Captain's test a year ago and I passed. Here I am a, year later," Byleth said indifferently. She took a piece of her food with her fork and chewed. It was only after she swallowed that she realized how quiet the table had been.

  
"... That's it, really," she muttered, uncertain.

  
It was Leonie who broke the silence first. "Um, so do you live with anyone right now?"

  
Byleth shook her head. "I'm on my own. Alois has his own family and I didn't want to impose."

  
The group groaned collectively, leaving their captain puzzled.

  
“Captain!” Lysithea stood up from where she sat, “I go to a trivia bar once in a while, you should come with me!”

  
“The Gloucester Estate has a wide array of tea selections. I insist you pay a visit and try them, captain,” offered Lorenz.

  
“I take painting classes during my weekends. If that interests you, you are free to come with me,” Ignatz piped in.

  
Byleth’s eyes widened, bewilderment filled her face.

  
“Um…” this time, it was Marianne, “I volunteer at the equestrian club. I would love to show you around sometime.”

  
“My, Marianne, how bold of you,” Hilda commented good-naturedly. “Captain, let’s go to the salon next weekend with me if you’re free. I have some hot goss’ to share with you.” She gave a playful wink to Byleth.

  
“Please teach me martial arts sometime,” Leonie waved her fist in front of her.

  
“Let’s have lunch one day, Captain! I know lots of good buffet places around,” Raphael roared with excitement.

  
Claude couldn’t withhold the soft smile that crept on his face. This was precisely why he chose to remain in the 99th. A group of mismatched oddballs from all levels of life for sure, but their hearts are true. Right now, like Claude, they all sensed what their captain did not say.

_  
She's been alone all her life._

  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trouble all of you with my story," Byleth waved her hands in front of her frantically. It was the first time the generally stoic captain has shown such a flustered expression openly.

_  
Cute_ , Claude found his brain saying without any prompting.

  
"I thought Claude was right, I would rather you hear my story directly from me but I didn't want any pity taken out of it. I'm really fine with my situation..." Byleth trailed off.

  
Claude reached out and put a hand on Byleth's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

  
"Hey," he called softly. Her eyes met his. He left out her honorifics on purpose, making it clear that he spoke not as a subordinate but as a friend and her equal. "I know I'm speaking on behalf of everyone when I say that we like you as a superior officer _and_ as a person."

  
Byleth averted her gaze from Claude's, a hint of pink visible across her pale cheeks. Claude stopped his brain in time from throwing another impromptu (and inappropriate) comment about his captain. He retracted his hand from her shoulder.

  
"You're one of us now, and that makes you a member of our family. You can rely on us on anything, even if you only need company. We'll all be there for you."

  
Everyone nodded at Claude's words, warm smiles directed at Byleth.

  
"I …" Byleth paused, seemingly searching for words as she met everyone's eyes. "Thank you, everyone."

  
Byleth's face broke into a smile, one that reached her eyes unlike the restrained ones she normally gave. It was serene, graceful and contagious. Claude, at that moment, wished he could take a picture of it because it was the most beautiful expression he had ever witnessed. And, by stars, he thought he would do anything just to see it again and again.

  
  



	9. Crossroads: The Beginning

Claude threw his keys onto his dining table. He strode across his dark living room, straight into his bedroom. He took off the brown leather jacket he was wearing and hung it behind his door before plopping down on his bed.

_  
What a day, _ he thought to himself.

  
He didn't quite expect such an… intensive past from their captain. Then again, he didn’t expect her to open up so much about herself. She had been defying expectations ever since she arrived.

  
Claude chuckled to himself. It’s interesting.

  
He turned his head to the work desk next to his bed. A pile of research for cases he had done in the past glared back at him. On top of it were notes from his most recent investigation.

_  
“Church of Seiros.” _

  
Claude frowned. Truthfully, there wasn’t much he could find about said church. Only a few websites wrote on them, and, from what Claude gathered, the idea around it seemed to be of historical folklore. Of a goddess and holy saints. Holy weapons, magics and ostentatious nobility. It was of Fodlan a thousand years ago, when the three kingdoms were at war at each other. When they saw neighboring regions and their people as a threat.

  
Some of that still rings true until today, such as nobilities and border tensions. But the rest? The cynist and logical side of him found it hard to believe. Any sound-minded person in this modern-age would.

  
And yet why was Byleth investigating it with all the seriousness she could muster? Moreover, what were the crests? Claude couldn’t find anything on them. Not on the internet, not on official police archives. What was the link between Agartha and the church? How did she come to the connection between them?

  
So many questions, and Claude wasn’t privy to their answers.

  
But what was most pressing to Claude wasn’t all of this.

_  
"I have nothing to lose."  _

  
Now that Claude knew a little bit about the captain’s past, those words carry a different weight. She meant them. But for what? This was much more personal to her than simply chasing after a drug ring. She was willing to put her life in line for this because she believes she won't leave anyone behind.

  
Claude didn't like that in the slightest. He needed answers but it seems that the only one who has them was Byleth herself. Will she be willing to share that information with him, however?

  
What a complicated crossroads that he had met her in. He only hoped that the journey ahead won’t be as rocky as he anticipated.

\---

The place was once called The Holy Tomb. Sealed off from the rest of Fodlan and the external world, it is an expansive space made out of carved stones from the ceiling, to the pillars, to the floor. A singular throne of stone was perched at the far end of the room, bridged by a set of staircase cascading down from it. At the base of the staircase, ten hooded figures stood in a semi circular pattern, almost ritualistic. An eleventh hooded figure walked towards them, donning white in contrast to the rest of their company.

  
“I heard the Death Knight has been captured,” a throaty male voice spoke from among those in black.

  
“I hope this would not falter the Goddess’ second coming.” It was a woman’s voice this time.

  
“The fall of Nemesis has hindered our progress by more than twenty years. We cannot be foiled again, not when we are so close,” remarked a heavy male voice.

  
“Fellow Enlightened Ones,” this time, the white-cloaked person spoke. A female voice emitted from under the white hood, calm and serene, carrying a weight of command upon the group. “Rest assured that while Jeritza has been salient to Agartha’s surface mission, by no means is he part of our primary aim. We are on track, and in about ten moons, we will be able to show all of Fodlan the power of our founding goddess once more. These heathens will receive their punishments.”

  
Everyone in the room nodded after her words.

  
“But what about the Eisner girl? Will you let her be? She has been inching closer to us recently,” another asked from under his black hood.

  
“We are bigger and stronger than we were twenty years ago. Another Jeralt will not happen. And should she finally come across information that is detrimental to our plan,” a smile could be seen from under the white hood, slight yet ominous, “it is within my grasp to ensure she disappears from this world.”

  
Her words were met with a silent understanding from the others.

  
“Now,” the woman continues, “let us all pray to Sothis for her guidance and blessings upon us and all of Fodlan, that she will grace us with her presence once more and grant us ease in her reawakening.”

  
She stopped by the base of the staircase before kneeling while clasping her hands together. Her movement was followed in unison by those garbed in black behind her.

_  
“The Goddess always lives in heaven and Fodlan”. _


	10. Unravel

_“Mama, my stomach hurts...”_

_  
"Ma’am, we suspect it’s ingestion of poisonous substance.”_

_  
“The future heir has the blood of an enemy nation, what a disgrace…”_

_  
“Why do you look like that?”_

_  
“If you don’t watch your back, I may kill you.”_

_  
“It hurts...”_

_  
“Not another accident.”_

_  
“Would it be better if I don’t exist?”_

  
Claude woke up with a start, a trickle of sweat trailing down his forehead. The blanket that was covering him moments ago pooled around his bare torso. He brought a hand to his face.

  
Just another nightmare.

\--- 

  
“Mornin’,” Claude murmured quietly as he dropped into his office chair.

  
“Hey there, leader-man,” Hilda greeted, leaning over his desk. She scrunched her eyebrows slightly as she watched his face. “You okay? You seem a little off today.”

  
Claude sighed. “I didn’t sleep well last night and I think I have a migraine creeping up right now.” His head does feel a little heavy. He might have an aspirin somewhere in his desk drawers.

  
“Captain wants to see you by the way,” Hilda added.

  
Claude grunted a reply. “Tell her I’ll be there in five.”

  
Hilda merely hummed in response before walking away.

\---

  
Claude gave two light raps against the office door.

  
“Come in,” the voice on the other side of the door spoke.

  
The detective opened the door to see his captain immersed with the documents in front of her. She shifted her eyes from them and looked up once she heard him walking in.

  
"Claude, have a seat," she nodded at the chair across her. He slid into the aforementioned chair, finding relief to be off his feet.

  
"I want to ask if you have any urgent cases to tend to?” questioned Byleth. 

  
Claude blinked for a moment before shaking his head. “I was planning on finishing some paperwork today.”

  
Byleth gave a slight nod. “I have a lead on Agartha, an abandoned apartment unit that might be an old hideout of theirs. I want you to come with me and investigate.”

  
That perked him up. It'd been a while since they had any pointers for this case they are working together to solve. Granted, Claude had other, more pressing cases over the past weeks, meaning that he didn't have the opportunity to devote proper time to investigate Agartha outside the secret research on Church of Seiros he had been doing (not that he could freely admit it to the captain). He wouldn't want to miss the opportunity for more closure to this questionably complex case and, perhaps, find out more about Byleth's hidden motives.

  
"Sure, count me in."

  
"We leave in half an hour." Byleth paused and gave Claude a glance-over. Her blue eyes analyzed him. He had to suppress a shiver from the intensity of those orbs, though he wasn't sure if the giddiness he felt was from her or the restless night he had. Probably both.

  
"Are you all right Claude?" Byleth asked, her eyes showing the slightest hint of concern.

  
Claude chuckled lightly. "You are probably the tenth person today to ask me that Captain." He rubbed the side of his neck, giving it a slight massage. "I'm fine. Didn't sleep well last night and have a bit of migraine coming. I drank a pill for it just now so it should subside soon."

  
Byleth looked at him with apprehension.

  
Claude leaned in closer to her, hand propped on the table separating the two of them. A coy smile crossed his lips. "Is the captain concerned over the well-being of her _favorite_ detective?"

  
She gave a little scoff, unfazed by Claude's brazen tease. "I am concerned that my subordinate will foil an investigation because he is not in his best condition."

  
Claude feigned a hurt expression. He brought a hand over his heart dramatically. "Yeeesh that's cold captain, what's a fella gotta do to get some affection around here?"

  
His remark earned a small eye-roll from his captain and Claude gave himself a mental pat on the back for procuring another new expression from the stoic woman across him.

  
"Will you be all right?” Byleth asked once more. Claude met her eyes and noticed that this time she was asking as herself, disregarding her captain title as he saw genuine concern from them. It made him feel strangely warm inside.

  
“I think I can handle an empty apartment, Cap,” he shrugged.

  
“Fine, but just in case, I’m driving,” his captain added.

  
“Okay, you’re the boss.”

  
“I _am_ your boss.”

  
Claude gave a light-hearted laugh at her response. Her bluntness will never be short of amusing to him.

  
\---

  
There was a ridiculous amount of paper everywhere, was Claude's initial thought as he and Byleth entered the apartment unit. It was an average, middle-class living space in an equally middle-class neighborhood. Nothing particularly stood out about the area and it was definitely not a prime choice in mind for someone who partook in illicit activities. Then again, hiding in plain sight is sometimes the most effective strategy.

  
“How did you find a lead to this place?” Claude asked Byleth as he started to rummage around the papers scattered all over the modest living room which had begun to collect dust.

  
“I interrogated Jeritza again a few days ago and he finally told me that this place was where an affluent member of Agartha stayed. The landlord told me that the tenant suddenly disappeared not long after we arrested Jeritza, so the place has been abandoned for a few weeks now,” responded Byleth while inspecting the kitchen area of the apartment.

  
“I see.” Claude crouched down to have a better look at the papers scattered on the floor. “So who’s the tenant?” 

  
“A Myson Baird,” Claude heard his captain mutter along with soft thuds of kitchen cabinets being opened and closed. 

  
The name didn’t sound familiar to him—but then again Claude had only reached up to Jeritza in terms of real-life lead. “Hmm, this is interesting,” he noted out loud. He heard Byleth’s footsteps heading towards where he was following his words.

  
“What is it?” she asked, looking over his shoulders from where he sat on the floor. Claude laid out and re-arranged several papers in front of him.

  
“Okay, so a lot of these are scattered with the intent to cover up patterns, but I noticed there are several different categories these papers can be sorted into,” Claude first pointed to a row of paper he laid out at the top of others, “these have lists of names, dates and money; I’m assuming bookkeeping of sales.” He moved on and hovered his finger to a row in the middle. “These are chemical equations, solvents list, dilution rates and raw materials needed to cook up some cocaine. I think this list of cold medicines could possibly be used for meth as well.”

  
“Hmm, you’re very familiar with your poisons, Claude,” Byleth commented, an eyebrow raised at him. 

  
Claude turned to face her. “Oh, I have a degree in chemistry and I’m very good at it,” he smirked. “In fact, had I decided to follow a more unorthodox career path, I might just make a very good drug dealer and have you run for your money.”

  
Byleth gave a scoff at his taunt, mirth seeping underneath it. “I think I can handle you.”

_  
No doubt about it_ , Claude replied to her silently in his mind with equal amusement. He turned his attention back to the papers in front of him.

  
“This third row is what I find interesting,” Claude took a piece of paper from the last row and held it closer for Byleth to see. “While the other two fits into the agenda of narcotics producers, this one does not.”

  
The paper was filled from top to bottom with symbols of letters and greek representatives, graphs, complex lines of derivative and formulas. Claude saw Byleth’s furrowed eyebrows, evidently unable to comprehend the content of the paper.

  
“Physics,” Claude explained, “and at a very complex level at that, maybe quantum physics? It’s not my field so I can’t really figure out what this calculates as well.” 

  
Byleth straightened up, crossing her arms across her chest. “So either our suspect is a chemist who is branching out of his field or Agartha is also scheming something that is not related to drugs.”

  
“Both doesn't sound very settling, does it?” Claude chuckled grimly. “On the papers with the physics equation, I also noticed these.”

  
Byleth leaned down once more. Claude brought her attention to the top corners of the pages.

_BSM 2185_

_GTM 2159_

_GM 2164_

_RWM 2172_

  
“If I’m right, I assume these are abbreviations of months with their respective years; which means someone's been working on these from twenty years ago until now.” Claude scratched the side of his head in thought. “At least from what I could gather so far.”

  
His trail of thoughts was cut off when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to face his captain—a slight smile graced her face and her eyes were a little softer than usual. Claude's breath hitched just a millisecond in which then he silently reminded himself how to breathe properly. 

  
“Good solve, detective,” she gave his shoulder a quick squeeze before standing up. “I’ll look into the other rooms. You can continue here and see if you can find more links."

  
Claude's hand hovered over where Byleth’s had been on his shoulder as soon as she was out of view, relishing the faint warmth it left behind. _Stars, the things she doesn’t realize she’s doing_. He shook his head and brought his attention back to the papers in front of him. This case might be much more complex and massive than he thought. More than simply taking down a long-established drug ring. He hoped his hunch was wrong, but he couldn't suppress the unease he felt as he scanned through the sheets covered in complex formulas beyond his understanding. He's a man of science and he believes in its role in mankind's advancement—but in the wrong hands, science itself can be a lethal weapon.

  
Claude groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It took almost all his brain cells to come up with his earlier hypothesis, and the headache he felt since the morning was still relentless, hindering his ability to think. It didn’t help his predicament that he felt intermittent chills crawling through him even though it was clearly a hot and sunny day outside. He probably should ask for leave after the investigation is done. 

  
But not now. Right now, getting into the bottom of this case is priority. He needed answers to the endless questions in his head.

  
“Claude! Can you come here for a minute?”

  
He heard the captain’s voice from one of the rooms. Claude pushed himself off the ground with a grunt. He walked over to the room where he heard her voice from. A home-office came into his view as he entered the room. Books and papers are scattered all over, and a black laptop sat on the work desk.

  
“Hey, can you help me push this aside for a minute?” Byleth asked him from where she stood near a bookcasem its height and width was enough to tower over both of them. 

  
Claude raised an eyebrow at her. “So out of all the things that attracted your attention in this mess for clues, including a laptop that’s in plain sight, is a nearly empty bookcase? What, you expected a secret passageway to magically appear from behind that thing?”

  
He gave Byleth a light smirk , which earned him an eye-roll. 

  
“I noticed some sort of marks on the wall from the edges of the bookcase. I just need it moved to see if it might be another clue.” She positioned herself on one side of the shelf. “now help me with this --that’s an order, detective.”

  
She was looking at him with those stern blue eyes, and Claude found himself compelled to oblige for more reasons than one. He placed himself on the other side of the bookcase and began to push it away from the wall, its lack of added weight making the entire endeavour easier. He stole a quick glance to the wall and, sure enough, there was something written on it.

  
"Okay, I think this is good," he heard Byleth grunt once they managed to move the bookcase a good distance from the wall, procuring enough space for them to see the space behind it.

  
"What the…" Claude muttered.

  
Where the bookcase previously leaned on were phrases written in old Fodlanese. Some of them were written in ink, some were carved and etched on the wall. The text appeared to be constructed by different individuals over time hinted by the slight difference of font between words. Claude couldn’t make out the entirety of the phrases—words and jargons had rapidly evolved (sometimes for the worse) with the advancement of technology a few hundreds years ago. He recognized several words, mainly from folklore he used to read as a child. There were “Goddess”, “Fodlan”, “heaven” and “watching over us”. Below the text were four symbols drawn next to each other. They were unrecognizable to him.

“Macuil...Indech...Cichol...Cethleann…” 

  
His attention shifted to Byleth as he heard her whisper those names. She was visibly frowning, transfixed to the sight in front of her. What were the words she just uttered? Were they what the symbols represented? Or were they the words he found illegible on the wall? 

  
Claude didn't have the luxury to ponder much longer as he suddenly spotted a shadow of a figure slithering towards them. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, his gut wrenching slightly. He reached out and pulled Byleth towards him in the corner of the room out of instinct.

_  
Thwack!_

  
Three seconds after, a crack formed on the wall across where Byleth stood before—a bullet shell had replaced her, pierced through the sand-colored concrete.

  
Both officers immediately pulled their sidearms out of their holsters.

  
“Thank you,” Claude heard Byleth whisper as she glanced back at him. Claude nodded back at her and the two shifted from where they were hidden behind the bookshelf, guns pointed to the direction the shot came from.

  
Standing near the doorway was a lithe figure clad entirely in black. A black mask covered their face. The figure was holding a revolver pointing back at them.

  
“Put your gun down,” Byleth threw a warning at the unknown figure.

  
“Heh,” the person scoffed, “you are one annoying pest.”

  
It was a woman’s voice, a little high pitched with a hint of venom.

  
“At this rate we might have to get rid of you,” she spoke directly at Byleth. A cackle. “Just like we did your father.”

  
Claude frowned. Wait, what? Didn’t Byleth say her father died in an accident? He stole a glimpse at Byleth. Anger was etched on her face, a flame in her eyes that he never saw before. They were almost demonic, and he found himself shivering slightly from its intensity.

  
“You knew.” Byleth's voice remained steady and flat, but the raw emotions on her face betrayed the calmness of her voice.

  
"Of course," the mysterious woman sneered. "I was the one who stuck the blade in his back after all. Oh, the face of one little Eisner girl crying over her daddy was a delight to watch."

  
Byleth fired several shots at the other woman but she was quick to dodge. It was evident that she was highly skilled and trained. Claude fired supporting shots immediately after, all of which the unknown woman evaded once more. She retaliated by firing at Claude—fortunately he was able to dodge in time by shielding himself behind the bookshelf. 

  
Byleth charged towards the woman but the black-clad figure was agile. Before the captain could reach her, she was tripped off her feet by the unknown assailant. Her sidearm was kicked out of her hand and Claude found Byleth pinned on the floor by her attacker, a knife pressed against her throat.

  
"Captain!" Claude yelled, aiming his gun at the two. No—he couldn't. They were too close to each other.

  
"Count your luck that I'm under strict orders not to kill you," the masked woman pressed her blade harder against Byleth's neck, forming a shallow cut on her porcelain skin. "It will do you good to quell that curiosity of yours now."

  
She retracted the blade from Byleth's neck, got up and dashed out of the study room. Before Claude could say anything, Byleth pushed herself off the ground and chased after the unknown woman. Claude immediately trailed after her, in time to catch Byleth exit the apartment's fire escape. He followed after her, going through the escape window and climbing down five flights of stairs, cursing inwardly because he really wasn't in the physical condition to do this. His head was throbbing more than ever and his body was aching. But no, he needed answers more than he did a rest. 

  
At least, that was what he thought.

  
The staircases led him to a small brick alleyway. One end of it led to a locked gate, while the other connected to the main road. Claude dashed over to the side that led to the road where he could see the familiar silhouette of his precinct captain. 

  
He managed to reach her just before he felt like his lungs were about to collapse. Claude propped himself up against the brick wall as he steadied his breath.

  
"I lost her," he heard Byleth say.

  
Byleth turned to him, a troubled expression lingering on her face. She began to speak but Claude couldn't discern her words from the loud pounding in his ears. His body felt heavy. Everything was spinning out of control—his vision gradually narrowed and darkened despite his best efforts to remain conscious. 

  
The last thing he remembered before everything went dark was Byleth calling out his name.

  
"Claude!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trivia:  
> Myson is an actual member of Those Who Slither in The Dark in the game. I made up the last name.


	11. Complicated Contemplations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Claude and Byleth finally got a soft moment! AKA: This is an indulgence chapter for me because I am soft for caring-for-the-sick trope.
> 
> Also, any Nader/Judith shippers anyone?

_ "I hate hospitals, mama." _

_  
"I hate the way they look at me." _

_  
"My darling boy, anytime you feel afraid, hold my hand. Know that I will always be there for you..." _

  
Claude opened his eyes slowly. He blinked a couple times, letting his eyes adjust to the fluorescent lights. He was greeted with the familiar ceiling of his room. He was lying on his bed, covered under his dark gray duvet. Claude shifted his eyes to his side and was met with a sight he did not anticipate.

  
There, next to him at the edge of his bed was one Captain Byleth Eisner. She was sitting on a chair that was brought over next to his bed, her head resting on top of her left arm propped on his mattress. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was even—she looked peaceful and unguarded. She had her hair down, splayed across her shoulders and not in the tight bun she normally wore to work. Claude resisted the urge to move the strand of blue hair that draped across her cheek. It was then that his attention was brought to another detail; his left hand had been wrapped around her right hand the entire time.

_  
Wait _ . Hang on. Rewind.

  
How did he end up in his room? Why was the captain there with him? What happened after their stakeout? How and why was he STILL holding her hand? (and gosh, it was so soft and warm).

  
He pulled back his hand and sat up abruptly, immediately regretting the decision as he felt the room spin around him. The sudden movement caused the sleeping woman beside him to stir awake.

  
"Oh, you woke up," she mumbled, a little groggy. She lifted her head and straightened up in the chair she was sitting on, rubbing her eye briefly (no, he didn't find it cute, nope).  
  
Claude stared at her, bewildered. "Yeah, yep," Claude replied, finding it hard to form words together at the situation. "So, care to fill me in on what happened?"

  
"You fainted after we chased after the perp. I managed to bring you over to a nearby hospital, you had a really high fever this entire time," Byleth answered.

  
Ah, so that explains why he felt so off earlier in the day.

  
"The hospital gave you a paracetamol drip to lower your fever. You woke up for a bit over there, kept on insisting to go home, remember? I had to call Hilda and ask her where you live."

  
Claude shook his head. Nope, everything was a blur to him.

  
Byleth gave a small smile. "Makes sense, you seemed a little delirious back then. The doctor said it was a bad case of flu but he cleared you for home recovery after your temperature dropped from the drip. I asked Hilda to call someone who could look after you. She said she would and asked me to be with you until someone arrives."

  
Byleth took out her phone from her pocket, letting it light up briefly for her to check the screen, "I guess she still hasn't gotten to it?" she sighed.

  
Somewhere at the back of his mind, Claude had a nagging feeling that the office assistant and college friend was delaying things on purpose. She had been pretty cryptic towards him in recent days as well. He kept a mental note to talk to her about it later. 

  
Claude propped up a pillow against the headboard of his bed and leaned against it. "What time is it?" he asked Byleth.

  
"8 P.M.," the captain replied.

  
"What?!" Claude exclaimed, "You’ve been here that long? You could have left.”

  
“I would if I could,” Byleth chuckled lightly. She rubbed her right hand with her left. “You’ve got quite a grip there, detective.”

  
Claude could feel his face warm up, understanding what she meant. “Uh...yeah sorry about that,” he rubbed the side of his neck, “how did...that happen? I hope I didn’t do anything stupid while I was out.”

  
Byleth shook her head. “It’s fine. You seemed to have a little bit of a nightmare a while back. When I went to check on you, you somehow grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go.”

  
Claude mumbled a quiet ‘sorry’ to the captain.

  
"You seemed calmer after that so I let it be. Don't worry about it, I wasn't planning on leaving until someone came, anyway."

  
Rarely does Claude find himself out of words—he took pride in his quick wit and silver tongue, had won many debate competitions back in his academic years and was never short of witty comebacks when the need called for them. And yet, recently he found himself at a loss for words more often, specifically because of the woman next to him who managed to unravel his defenses without even trying.

  
And so, he blurted out the first thing in his head. "Your hand was nice and warm."

  
Wait. No. Abort! Abort! That should not even be in his head let alone said out loud. This was his boss for stars' sake!

  
"Um...thank you?" Byleth said reluctantly. Claude wasn't sure if the fever was playing with his mind but he could have sworn he saw hints of pink across her cheeks (which did not help his wandering mind at all). Byleth cleared her throat briefly. "So… do you want to change into something more comfortable first?"

  
"'Scuse me?" Claude half squeaked, his brain somehow processing the question to be more suggestive than it meant. Damn this fever.

  
"You're still in your work clothes, might do you good to change into ones that are clean and less...grimy."

  
Claude looked down at himself and sure enough he was still in his yellow checkered shirt. His tie was removed, however (did she remove them?). There were some stains on him from the scuffle earlier in the day and he could feel slight dampness from sweat on his back.

  
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," he remarked.

  
Byleth nodded. "You want me to bring some clothes to you?"

  
"No, it's fine. I can manage that."

  
"All right," Byleth stood up from her chair. "I'll be outside for a bit while you get changed." The blue-haired captain walked out of the room, closing the door of the bedroom gently behind her. Claude huffed to himself once he found himself alone in the room.

_  
Boy, what a predicament he found himself into. _

  
He pushed off his bed and trudged slowly to his closet. He reached out for the first shirt and sweatpants he saw. As he worked his way through his clothes, he replayed the events of earlier in the day in his head.

  
An empty apartment. Many, many papers. Unknown formulas. A cryptic message on the wall. Four symbols.

_  
“Macuil...Indech...Cichol...Cethleann…” _

  
A mysterious person. Gunshots.

_  
“Just like we did your father.” _

  
Byleth's rage-filled eyes.

  
Claude put the clothes he wore earlier in the day away before he walked back to his bed. He remained seated at its edge, arms resting on his lap. A frown danced across his face.  _ What was all that about? _

  
He heard a knock on his door. "Claude, are you done?" Byleth's muffled voice came from the other side of the door.

  
"Yeah, come in," he called out. The door opened and Byleth came in, a tray with a bowl and a glass of water on top of it in hand. She set them down on his bedside table and he gave her an amused look.

  
"I'm not the best cook but I tried to make do with what I could find in your kitchen. You need to eat before drinking your medicine." Byleth took her seat on her chair once more and was now sitting facing him.

  
Claude smiled softly at her. "Thanks Cap, for all this. You really shouldn't have."

  
Byleth shrugged. "It's my duty to make sure my subordinates are well." Her expression fell a little. "I'm sorry I made you come with me when you were ill."

  
"Hey now my friend," Claude shook his head, "I'm the one who agreed to it, you didn't force me to do anything I didn't want. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for all the trouble I caused you today." He gave her a reassuring smile which she returned with a rare gentle expression of her own. Goodness, that suited her very well.

  
Claude sobered from his smile, his face turning serious. "I do want to talk about what happened earlier in the day."

  
He noticed Byleth tense up slightly as the words came out of his mouth.

  
"Was everything true.. .what that person said?" he asked. Byleth stared at him for a few seconds before nodding silently at him.

  
"Who was your father?"

  
Byleth averted her gaze from Claude's for a bit, eyes looking pensive. She then returned to look back straight at him. "... Jeralt Eisner was my father," she said quietly, almost a whisper.

  
Claude somehow wasn't surprised but he found himself inhaling a little sharper nonetheless. Something suddenly clicked in his head.

  
"Does this have anything to do with why he suddenly quit the forces and disappeared years ago after taking down Nemesis?"

  
"That's what I've been trying to find out," she replied flatly, but Claude didn't miss the way her fists clenched on her lap. "Or maybe I just want closure for myself."

  
It was a vulnerable topic for her, he could tell from her carefully guarded words. It probably took all her courage to revisit old wounds and buried memories, to proclaim out loud a life mission she'd been journeying on alone. 

_  
"I was the one who stuck the blade in his back after all. Oh the face of one little Eisner girl crying over her daddy was a delight to watch." _

  
If Claude understood right, then Byleth watched as her father was killed. That was a wound that no one would forget easily, a living nightmare that could scar anyone for a lifetime. He had a million more questions for her, but his gut told him he shouldn't pry more than he already did. This was probably harder on her and she had been gracious enough to share a little bit more of her difficult past. He would meet her in kind, in return.

  
Claude reached out and held Byleth's hands in his gently, something he felt was appropriate for the moment. Her eyes met his, mildly surprised and questioning.

  
"I won't ask anything else for now, I'll let you tell me when you're ready," he wrapped his hands around hers a little tighter, "but I want you to remember that you have all of us at the 99th, you don't have to go through this alone."

_  
Don't throw your life away recklessly, you have a family now, _ was what he meant to say.  _ Let me help you. _

  
Byleth seemed to understand what he was trying to say, her face softened and her posture relaxing a little. "Thank you, Claude." She withdrew one of her hands from his grasp and brought it over to his forehead. "You do have to eat though, you're still a little warm."

  
Claude won't deny the heat he felt on his face but he was definitely sure it was not from his fever. Having Byleth up close, Claude realized that his captain was truly a thing of beauty. He noticed she was attractive but he never had a good look at her. Those intense blue eyes, the natural hint of blush of her cheeks, her pink lips and her soft, pale skin. Not to mention the atmosphere between them just now has been strangely… warm. A little intense but intimate and welcoming. Was it just him or did she feel it too?

  
Alas, Claude didn't have a chance to ponder further when a booming voice brought him back to reality.

  
"Hey kiddo! You awake? I was told you got sick on the job or something?"

  
And in popped a man of large build, dark scruffy hair and a beard that covered his face. He walked into his room just in time to catch Byleth's hand on his forehead and her other hand in his grip. Claude felt an impending headache coming.

  
At the sight of the two, the man raised his eyebrows and mouthed a silent "oh". 

  
"Whoops, I didn't know you have company… should I come back later?" the man asked, a smirk forming on his face. 

  
Claude and Byleth quickly withdrew from each other. "No, it's fine," Claude sighed. "Captain, this is Nardel, my mentor and bodyguard of sorts from the Riegan house. Nardel, this is Byleth Eisner, the new captain of my precinct. She's been stuck taking care of me thanks to your  _ tardiness _ ."

  
Nardel walked into the room and Byleth stood up from her chair, meeting him. They both offered a hand to each other and shook hands briefly.

  
"Pleasure to meet you," Byleth said politely.

  
"Likewise," Nardel responded with a smile. "I'm sorry I'm late, I had to finish some errands before making my way here."

  
"Don't worry about it. Claude collapsed when he was on an investigation with me, it's my obligation to make sure he was taken care of."

  
"I see." Nardel's eyes were locked on Byleth, analyzing her. Claude had a strange desire to shield her from his seemingly wandering gaze. "You seem to be around Master Claude's age, Miss Eisner. To make captain at your age, that is very impressive," Nardel commented.

  
"Thank you," Byleth nodded in courtesy, "I started out a little earlier than the rest."

  
"She was on Fodlan Guard track before she changed to regular police path voluntarily," Claude chimed in from where he was at the edge of his bed, "she can definitely take you on, I can vouch for that." 

  
"Ah, a former Fodlan Guard trainee," Nardel laughed, his naturally loud and heavy voice making it seem like an uproar. "My wife Judith was a Fodlan Guard assigned to Master Claude's protection when he was younger, packs quite a punch she does. Say, how are you with the swords?"

  
Byleth smiled slightly, her eyes twinkling with interest. "It was actually one of my favorite trainings."

  
"Excellent! I'd love to spar with you one day Captain,” Nardel grinned.

  
“That can be arranged,” Byleth nodded. She then turned to Claude. “Anyway, I will be taking my leave now if that’s all right with you.”

  
Claude blinked. Oh right. She’s been waiting for someone to replace her. Right, right.

  
“Yeah of course, let me walk you out the door,” Claude pushed himself off the bed and stood up. However, the sudden motion of it quickly disoriented him and he stumbled forward slightly, only to find himself held steady by Byleth as she caught him by his arms. 

  
“I think you should stay where you are, I can find my way out,” she said quietly as she let him go. “Also, Claude, I want you to take the next two days off, maybe more if you need. If I see you in the office before that, expect two weeks of desk duty.”

  
“Ouch, Captain, you really know where to hit,” Claude chuckled. “All right, I’ll stay put. Thanks for everything by the way.” Claude gave a soft smile to Byleth which she mirrored back to him (and no one had told him before that a smile could have so much power over him). 

  
She turned around to leave the room, but not before she wished a quick goodbye to Nardel. Claude's eyes didn't move away from his bedroom door as he listened to Byleth's footsteps getting further and further away. His reverie was broken by the quiet click of his front door and Nardel clearing his throat.

  
“I’m still here kiddo,” the older man gave Claude a knowing grin.

  
“Ugh, whatever you’re thinking, just don’t say it,” Claude groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he made his way to sit back at the edge of his bed.

  
“So it’s finally happening? A lady conquered the heart of Claude von Riegan at last?” Nardel laughed, taking his seat on Claude’s study chair.

  
“Nothing is happening, she was taking care of me out of professional courtesy,” the detective retorted, “plus she’s my boss! It will just be way too complicated.”

  
Nardel rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that conversation looked professional all right.” Well, Claude couldn’t really argue with that. “Also kiddo, don’t talk about complicated until you've put yourself out there the way your mother did.” Couldn’t argue with that one either.

  
Claude huffed at himself. He’s really not in the mood to debate anything right now. He just wanted to go back to sleep. 

  
“Can we press pause on this conversation  _ Nader _ ? My head is killing me right now,” pleaded Claude at the man, the name he used to call the other in private slipping out from his tongue on purpose.

  
“All right, fine. I just want to let you know that you shouldn’t let ‘complicated’ stop you from achieving happiness,” Nader shrugged, “you are your mother’s son more than you know. Complicated is in your blood.”

  
Claude didn’t say anything to the other man’s comment. He grabbed the bowl of porridge that was left behind for him by his captain earlier. It was lukewarm now but he could still smell the faint aroma of chicken stock wafting from it. He took a spoonful of the porridge and put it in his mouth.

  
He smiled to himself.

_  
Not bad. _

  
  



	12. Interlude: Hearts Connected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I just want to say to those who followed the fic's journey up until now, thank you so much! And your kind words mean a lot to me. This is as much as adventure for me as it is for the deers and you. Also if you have twitter, let's be mutuals? (find me @themartinny ).

Byleth got out of her car and walked into the apartment building. As she climbed up the stairs, a familiar officer passed by. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement which Byleth reciprocated and they passed by each other wordlessly. She finally reached the apartment unit she was looking for, where another police officer was standing guard by its door. She nodded at her before walking into the unit.

  
What was an empty and lifeless apartment the day before was now bustling with several police officers collecting papers, dusting for prints, taking pictures and searching every corner of the place.

  
"Good afternoon, Captain Eisner," a dark haired officer greeted her.

  
"Hello, Cyril," Byleth greeted in return, "how are you all doing here so far?"

  
"We've collected most of the papers that are scattered and we will organize them into the three categories you suggested back at the precinct and hand them over to you. We've also confiscated the laptop and we'll have IT scan and unlock any protected documents. There isn't anything else noteworthy for prints and we couldn't find any traces of drugs so far."

  
Byleth nodded at the young man's report. "Any suspicious individuals sighted?"

  
"None detected, I had my colleagues watch over all possible entrances, including the fire escape," Cyril answered.

  
"All right, thank you Cyril, please carry on," Byleth told the officer who immediately nodded and returned to collecting the scattered papers around the apartment.

  
Byleth headed towards the study room and instinctively walked over to the gap behind the empty bookshelf. Her eyes immediately locked on the scribbles etched on the wall.

  
" _ The goddess always lives in heaven and Fodlan, It is watching over us for the mother of all living beings, _

_ As support for all mindful things _ "

  
It wasn't difficult for her to comprehend the text. Old Fodlanese was strangely something Jeralt had been pushing on her to familiarize with in her home studies ever since she was young. It started from children’s tales and old fables which later progressed into random documents Jeralt has somehow procured. She didn't think much about their content and Jeralt didn't expect her to. As long as she could read them, that was all that mattered.

  
Byleth has a nagging feeling that Jeralt was somehow preparing her for this moment. But why? 

  
The captain took her phone out and took a picture of the writing on the wall, making sure the four symbols underneath were clear in sight. Right after the fourth picture she took, her phone lit up with a notification from her messaging app.

**  
Claude** : hello captain my old friend

**Claude:** how are you today

  
Byleth raised an eyebrow at the message. Everyone had her number and she had all the detectives' numbers saved on her phone, it was a given work protocol. It was not the first time Claude had messaged her but those instances had been during work and were always work-related, brief and to the point. Now, however, the said detective was off duty and Byleth wondered what he could possibly be texting her for.

**  
Byleth** : Hi Claude. I'm fine thank you. Is there something you need?

  
Not too long after she sent the message, a reply came.

**  
Claude** : nothing needed

**Claude** : can't a fella chat up a friend without needing anything

  
Byleth couldn't help but roll her eyes at the message. If she could venture a guess, the man was probably bored.

**  
Byleth** : Not during work hours, Claude.

**  
Claude** : well I'm off duty thanks to someone so everything I do now is off work protocols

**Claude** : you on the other hand are not obliged to reply but you still did

**Claude** : are you missing your favorite detective already? ;)

  
The captain sighed and decided not to respond to the texts any further for the moment. She soon realized that it was a grave mistake as her phone vibrated incessantly from notifications. One of her eyebrows twitched in annoyance as she turned her attention back to her phone.

**  
Claude** : cap

**Claude:** don't leave me hanging

**Claude** : I'm boooored

**Claude** : Lorenz already blocked me for the day and Hilda just said she has lots of work to do which knowing her is a total lie

**  
Byleth** : Everyone is busy Claude.

**  
Claude** : the fact that you are replying to me means you do have the time otherwise you would just ignore me

**Claude** : my brain is itching to solve some crimes already

  
Byleth wondered if this was Claude's way of punishing her for making him take time off work.

**  
Byleth** : Then solve this.

**Byleth** : *image attachment*

**  
Claude** : hang on isn't this from the apartment yesterday

**Claude** : wait captain are you seriously back there again?

**Claude** : cap????

  
The blue-haired woman found her screen lit up with an incoming call from one Detective Claude von Riegan. Byleth mentally deadpanned. She regretted not heeding the advice Hilda gave her earlier in the morning when she arrived at the office.

_  
"Captain, just to give you a heads up, Claude is terrible with sick leaves, it's like he's allergic to staying at home doing nothing," Hilda told her with a quiet caution. "So if he somehow texts you today, ignore him. Block him if you must. Otherwise you won't hear the end of it." _

  
She should ignore the call for now. She really should. But then again, Claude was also her partner for this particular case and he had the right for information regardless of the situation. Byleth sighed, pulling out her bluetooth earpiece from her pocket and attached the device to her ear, her phone continuing to ring all the while.

  
"Hello, Claude," she said flatly as she answered the call.

  
"Are you really back in the apartment?!" she heard the other man exclaim from her earpiece. He sounded more frantic than she anticipated which surprised Byleth a little.

  
"Yes I am, I'm collecting evidence, is there a problem with that?" Byleth answered.

  
"Yes! A big one!" she heard Claude proclaim rather loudly.

  
"Are you yelling at your captain?" Byleth found herself starting to lose her cool slightly at the detective's intonations. Did he really not want to miss out a single aspect of work that badly?

  
"No," Claude seethed, "I'm yelling at someone who narrowly missed a bullet yesterday and had a knife pointed at her throat in that apartment. Did you forget that someone was after you?"

  
Byleth blinked, a little taken aback. She didn't expect  _ that _ to be his main concern.

  
“Are you...worried about me?” Byleth asked apprehensively, almost in disbelief. The mere sentence itself felt strange coming out of her lips. When was the last time she had someone being openly concerned for her well-being?

  
“Of course I am,” she heard him answer back without missing a beat, “the perp said she wanted to kill you yesterday and there you are marching by your own back to the lion's den."

  
Byleth couldn't hold back the small smile that danced across her face. The detective's flustered side was somehow endearing. Byleth walked towards the entrance of the home office she was in, stopping by the doorway. From there, she looked on outside to where several officers were diligently working around the rest of the apartment.

  
"Claude," the captain called calmly, "I'm not on my own."

  
"Oh," Claude uttered, sounding surprised. "You're not?"

  
Byleth brought a hand over her mouth to cover her widening smile. Can't have her team think that she's slacking off and having fun on the crime scene.

  
"No, I had several officers come by to the apartment to help with evidence collection and to keep watch. I'm not an amateur, Claude, I know what I'm doing," Byleth spoke, a hint of teasing in her voice. "Besides, wasn't it you who told me to depend more on the precinct as opposed to doing things on my own?"

  
"Well yeah..." Claude answered, a little uncertain.

  
"And I'm perfectly capable of defending myself," Byleth added.

  
"I know that," Claude pressed on, "I know that.. it's just... everything that happened yesterday sounded ominous and I want to make sure you're not putting yourself out there recklessly."

  
A warm sensation suddenly washed over Byleth as she heard the words being said to her by the detective. 

  
It wasn't the first time she felt this way. She felt it during their first stakeout together, when Claude told her she fit in the precinct. The second time was during their outing with the rest of the team; as they were having lunch, he told her that she was a part of the 99th family and that she was not alone anymore. The third time was yesterday - when he searched for her hand as he slept, when he held her hands again and decided to give her words of comfort instead of pressing further about her past, when their eyes met briefly after she caught him stumbling over himself.

  
It was a strange and unfamiliar feeling to her. If Byleth were to put it in words, it would be a mixture of comfort; trust with a lingering desire for closeness mixed into one. Claude somehow knew just the right words to say to her to make Byleth feel at ease and safe with another human being. And dare she would say, for once, she wanted company instead of seeking peace in her solace.

  
"Claude, don't worry about me, I'll be fine," she assured him gently, "instead of fussing over me, you should take care of yourself and get better."

  
She heard a chuckle from him. "Oh, I am recovering. I think that porridge of yours yesterday did wonders. Needed a dash more salt though."

  
Byleth scoffed, "I did say I wasn't the best cook."

  
"Hey I'm not complaining, it got me through the night and today," she heard him laugh lightly.

  
Byleth realized the smile never left her face the entire time. She also realized Cyril began to throw her a questioning look. The captain cleared her throat briefly. "Claude, I have to get back to work now."

  
There was a brief pause on the line before she heard him reply. "Okay," he muttered. "Hey, can you let me know when you're out of the apartment safe and sound? Just for my peace of mind?"

  
Byleth gave out a small laugh at him. "You worry too much, but sure."

  
They said their goodbyes and Byleth hung up. The captain walked across the living room towards Cyril who was finalizing some tasks. She gave him a few orders before leaving the apartment unit. Once she got into her car, Byleth took out her phone.

**  
Byleth** : I'm in the car. Heading back to the office now.

  
It only took a few seconds after she sent the message for replies to come in.

**  
Claude** : ok good

**Claude** : drive safe

  
And there came that warm feeling once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trivia: Most of you will probably know this already, but if you don't, the phrase on the wall is taken from the inscriptions on Sothis' magic circle.


	13. Accidental Momentum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth and Claude had an unintended development in their relationship and the rest of the squad has to suffer because of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello children. Don't worry, I'm still loyal to my two chapters per week update. This one is a little longer than usual but I am catering to my indulgence in this chapter. Special thanks to [ aurics ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurics/pseuds/aurics) and my little sister for beta-reading this absolute brain-rot of mine. You guys are MVPs.

"May I please bring your attention to this person?" Claude announced with apparent gusto as he pressed on the clicker in his hand. The wall screen of the briefing room lit up to show a picture of a man with wavy, shoulder-length dark hair. "This is Iago, one of Fodlan's most prolific identity thieves. An informant told me that he's here in Derdriu, which means we have a chance to catch this bastard at last!"

  
He was met with amused looks from all the detectives, who were sitting at the briefing room desks across him, including his captain. 

  
"You're very enthusiastic about this, Claude," Lysithea commented.

  
"Of course I am, Sarge," Claude winked at the smaller woman, which earned him an eye-roll from her. "Since being here for days after my leave, Captain finally has me cleared to go back on field missions again. This was all I've been looking forward to all week."

  
"You need to find a new hobby," Lorenz chimed in from where he sat in the briefing room.

  
Claude chose to ignore the violet-haired man's chiding and returned back to look at his screen.

  
"Anyway, tonight he will be taking one of his mistresses to Lafite. Now, he never goes anywhere without a purpose and I think he will be meeting with one of his clients at the restaurant. I'm planning on going undercover and try to catch him in the act." Claude then turned his attention to everyone in the room. "Buuut as you all know, Lafite is one of the go-to romantic spots in town so I'll need a date for this mission, which means… ladies?" 

  
A collective groan and grumble were heard from the women in the room. Byleth looked around, a puzzled expression on her face. Even Marianne, despite her silence, looked a little more deadpanned than normal.

  
"Hey, I'm willing to go with the guys as well, I'm not picky," Claude shrugged. "Except you, Lorenz, I'm not about to spend a hellish evening with you complaining about my table manners."

  
"Trust me, it will be a horrifying experience for me as well. I'll pass," Lorenz remarked.

  
"What's wrong with the undercover mission?" Claude heard Byleth ask, a questioning frown on her face.

  
It was Leonie who answered first. "Well,Captain, for one, we all make terrible fake dates."

  
"And also…" Lysithea added on to Leonie, "Claude loves to treat these as a recon mission for himself to get personal dirt on us and use it for future blackmail."

  
"It's true," Marianne quipped quietly much to everyone's surprise. Byleth gave a cynical glare at Claude and he put both his hands up in front of him in defense.

  
"Such slander from all of you," Claude exasperated dramatically. "Nothing wrong with a guy wanting to know his colleagues a little better."

  
"Yes, but you purposely try to find out things that are personally embarrassing for us," Lysthea grumbled in annoyance.

  
"Safe to say fake date missions with him are mentally draining," Leonie nodded, crossing her arms.

  
"Well…" this time it was Hilda who spoke, eyes gleaming with mischief. Oh no. Claude inwardly twitched, knowing that the pink-haired woman was on a mission whenever she had that look on her face. He had a hunch on where this would go.

  
"There is one person who might be  _ just _ right for this case," Hilda said pointedly. She turned to Byleth who was sitting next to her. "Captain, how about you go with him?" 

  
Claude tried to ignore the random palpitations he felt in his chest. 

  
"Hilda..." Claude called out in dismay.

  
"You have nothing scheduled for this evening and you're his boss, so Claude  _ wouldn't dare _ do anything outlandish unless he wanted to put his career at stake," Hilda continued, purposely ignoring Claude's calls.

  
"Hilda…" Claude repeated to no avail.

  
"Plus, you'll be saving these poor souls who have gone through the traumatic experience with him," the executive assistant waved a hand towards the rest of the room, pointing at no one in particular.

  
Byleth brought a hand towards her chin, seemingly in thought about the whole idea.

  
"I'll be more than happy to assist with your dress and make up for tonight as well," Hilda winked at the captain. Byleth smiled slightly and turned her attention to Claude. 

  
He sighed. He knew then there was no more room for argument from his side.

  
Claude smiled at her. "Well, Captain, I guess you're my date for tonight."

  
"I suppose there's no harm in that," she finally said, her eyes meeting Claude's.

  
And somehow, he was reminded of the words Nader said to him a week ago.

_  
"Complicated is in your blood." _

  
\---

  
Claude brushed a hand through his hair, his other hand stuck inside the pocket of his dress pants. He leaned against the van parked behind him. Inside it, Lysithea and Hilda were helping Byleth change into her undercover outfit.

_  
What's taking them so long? It's almost our reservation time _ , Claude thought to himself, letting out an audible huff.

  
"Something on your mind?" 

  
Claude looked up to the source of the voice. Not too far from him was Lorenz, his back against the ledgestone wall of the alleyway they were parked in, arms folded across his chest. He and Lysithea were tasked by Byleth to be their support team.

  
"Just wondering why women always take so long to get ready," Claude shrugged.

  
"The better question is why you  _ refuse _ to put in more effort." Lorenz's annoyed face was visible from the dim lighting of the street. "I really think you could dress up better."

  
Claude took a glance down at what he was wearing. He had on fitted black pants, a white shirt tucked into it and a black jacket. He was wearing a pair of dress shoes as well, not his usual sneakers. The outfit was a classic; formal enough for a place like Lafite, but not too over the top to make him feel constrained.

  
"I think I cleaned up all right for the night," Claude rebutted the other detective.

  
"You could have at least put on a tie and a vest," Lorenz grumbled in disdain, giving Claude's outfit a glance over.

  
Claude scrunched up his face. "And look like a walking Gloucester? No way."

  
"Looking like the future Leicester Duke that you are. I'm not talking about tonight exclusively." Lorenz pressed on. The man looked sternly at Claude with a hint of exhaustion at having to bring up a conversation that had came up multiple times in the past.

  
Claude scoffed lightly. So this was what it was all about  _ again _ .

  
"It's an  _ undercover _ mission, I'm not supposed to give away who I am and definitely not through how I dress," Claude argued back. "Besides, you have as much chance as I do of being elected as the next Duke once my gramps decides to retire."

  
"Not by long-standing lineage preference," Lorenz sighed.

  
"Things could change," Claude stated, voice brimming with confidence as if he knew what he said to be true already. He turned to Lorenz. “Between you and me, I want you to be the next Duke.”

  
Lorenz raised an eyebrow at Claude’s straightforward admission. "And what makes you think you can forgo that responsibility so easily?" he asked the dark-haired man, skepticism shrouded in his intonation.

_  
The possibility of a much larger responsibility waiting for me,  _ Claude answered silently in his head. Before he could come up with a response to Lorenz's question, a click was heard from the van. Both men’s heads snapped towards its door as it opened.

  
“Sorry for the wait, boys,” Hilda spoke as she jumped out of the van, a satisfied smile on her face. 

  
Claude threw a scowl at her. “Hil, we can’t be late, you know how popular Lafite is.”

  
“Tsk tsk, calm down leader-man, I just want to make sure you both look like the most stellar couple you could possibly be,” Hilda responded, waving a finger in front of him.

  
“Hilda whatever you’re trying to pull, don’t --” 

  
Any argument Claude had in his head flew away in an instant. Lysithea hopped out of the van and after her, Byleth stepped out with the sergeant’s help. The light around them was dim, but Claude could see the contrast of the captain’s pale skin against the black strappy halter-neck dress she was wearing. Those straps criss-crossed across her back, left bare from the low cut-of the dress. The entire thing hugged her form tightly, accentuating her hourglass shape, the hem stopping at her knees. Her posture was elongated by the black ankle-strap heels she wore. There were gentle twinkles of simple jewelries around her wrist and under her ears.

  
“Claude, are you listening?”

  
“Huh?” Claude turned to the voice and was met with Lorenz’s amused face in front of him. When did he get there?

  
“I want to make sure the mic in your jacket is functioning properly,” Lorenz spoke, waving the receiver in his hand.

  
Oh, right. Claude shoved a hand inside his shirt’s breast pocket where the tiny rectangular device was hidden, chancing another glance over to his precinct captain who seemed to be doing a similar device check with Lysithea. After Claude and Lorenz were finished with their equipment check, Claude heard the clicking of heels moving towards him. 

  
He turned to the sound. Byleth headed towards him, each sway of her hips accentuated by the combination of the dress and heels she had on. She had her hair down, the strands somehow wavier than usual and giving her a more feminine aura. Her face was still distinctively hers, sharp and void of emotions with big blue eyes that could pierce his soul anytime. Tonight, those eyes were made more apparent by soft touches of make-up. Claude had to give props to Hilda for highlighting Byleth’s features in a way that was not out of her character. Once the captain was close enough to him, Claude could smell the intoxicating sweet smell of her perfume. He wanted to do nothing more than to get closer to her and inhale more of the fragrance mixed with her natural scent -

  
No. Stop. Brain, stop wandering into dangerous territories.

  
“Hey,” Byleth said, breaking him away from his inner turmoil. “Ready to go?”

  
Claude once again felt the need to applaud the captain’s imperturbable personality. Stars, how did she remain so consistent? And here he was just one one whiff of her perfume away from crumbling down.

  
“Yeah,” he replied, thankful that he had years of mastering a steady voice no matter what the situation called for. “After you,” he gestured with his hand for Byleth to go ahead of him. 

  
The captain took her cue and began heading towards the main street. Claude gave one last look to the three “deers” left behind, every one of them studying him with great interest. Hilda mouthed a silent “you’re welcome” to him just before he turned around and walked away, joining Byleth.

_  
A few moments later... _

  
“Wow, Hilda, you were right,” Lysithea commented as she watched Claude and Byleth disappear, “I’ve never seen him so flustered before.”

  
“His ogling at the captain just now was repulsive and embarrassing,” Lorenz sighed, bringing a hand to his head in dismay. “As if he’s not enough of an embarrassment already.”

  
“Now, now, this is just phase one of TBD,” Hilda stated matter-of-factly. She took her phone out and dialed a number, having the call on speaker for Lorenz and Lysithea to hear. The line clicked after three rings.

  
“Hey Leo, how are you guys doing?” Hilda asked.

  
Across the street from Lafite, in a tinted sedan parked at the sideway were Leonie, Raphael, Ignatz and Marianne. Leonie sat in the backseat next to Marianne, a pair of binoculars on her as she looked on at the restaurant across them for Claude and Byleth.

  
“We got eyes on them, and Ignatz's audio receptor is picking up their voice as well,” Leonie answered at the phone Marianne was holding for her.

  
“Great!” Hilda’s voice gleefully sung, “can’t believe you know so much about audio surveillance, Ignatz.”

  
Ignatz pushed his glasses up, a proud smile forming on his face. “It’s just something I’m interested in,” he answered from the passenger seat. Next to him in the driver's seat, Raphael was munching on a foot-long sandwich.

  
The four detectives had agreed to convene under the combination of Lysithea and Hilda's persuasion earlier in the day.

_  
"Listen you guys, Captain Eisner is arguably the best CO we've ever had so far and we can't let Claude make things weird or awkward for her with his Claude-ness," Lysithea remarked. _

_  
"But also, if things somehow look up from tonight," Hilda added with a knowing smile on her face, "you all might bear witness and be part of one the most epic romances in the precinct." _

  
Whether any of them were there to prevent mishap or to play cupid were unknown but what they all did know was that Claude regarded the captain differently than he did other people. For someone who loves to twist words and take a jab at others, Claude was always his more straightforward self towards her. Sure, there were occasional teases he threw at her but they were never meant to rile her up; they were almost gentle on his part (and from past experience, they knew Claude was never one to rein in that part of his personality, even towards his superiors). 

  
Then there were those overt glances he stole of her, subtle at first, then growing more and more apparent as time passed by. This somehow intensified after he came back from his leave a couple of days ago. One could only be blind to not see how his eyes would go to their captain whenever she passed by, like a magnet to metal. 

  
While the captain was a little (all right, A LOT more) difficult to discern, there was a subtle twinkle in her eyes whenever she mentioned Claude if one observed her carefully. Recently, she had been more comfortable to express herself a little bit more with the rest of the precinct--but it was only around Claude that the generally guarded woman would let hints of real vulnerability drop. She would have a noticeably softer expression on whenever she talked to the detective.

  
At least, that’s what Hilda pointed out to all of them, seeing as she spends the majority of her time with Byleth due to the nature of her job.

  
“Well then everyone,” Hilda sung, “let operation Deerest Love commence!”

  
\---

  
“Thank you, my friend. That will be all,” Claude handed back the menu to the man waiting by their table. The waiter bowed briefly to them before walking away. Claude shuddered slightly. Gods, he hated places like these. Stuffy and overly pompous. 

  
Oh well, at least his company tonight would be interesting.

  
“So,” he turned to Byleth with a smirk, “here we are.” 

  
Byleth smiled back at him, her hands folded on the small circular table separating the two of them. “Yes,” she spoke, “it’s quite a nice place.”

  
“I generally prefer a more casual atmosphere,” Claude shrugged. He leaned into the table, bringing his face closer to Byleth's. "But a special lady calls for a special evening."

  
He uttered those words with his very own lips, yet somehow he could feel himself grow a little flustered from them. Whether his words had any impact on Byleth or not, he couldn't really tell--the woman across him merely gave an amused expression, her blue eyes glimmering brightly.  _ Stars, those damn eyes. _

  
All around them were couples seated around a similar circular dining table like theirs, covered by white cloth, a small rose arrangement at its center. The lighting throughout the restaurant was warm and dim, adding to the intimate atmosphere of the place.

  
Luckily for them, they were two tables away from Iago and his date, which meant they were able to keep an eye on him without effort. Unluckily, because of their proximity, they couldn't say anything that would remotely hint to the fact that they were with the police and possibly alerting Iago. 

  
Which also meant any work conversation was off the table.

  
"You look beautiful tonight," Claude complimented softly, finding himself truly meaning the words. A flash of surprise crossed Byleth's face, almost as if unaccustomed to having those words said to her. But why? She really was beautiful, and not just that evening.

  
"Thank you," she replied. Were those pink streaks he saw on her cheeks? Claude had to blink to make sure. "You're looking fine yourself," Byleth uttered to him.

  
"Oh, this old thing?" Claude grinned, glancing down at his clothes for a second. "I was told I could do better by someone, maybe add in a vest and a tie."

  
Byleth let out a small laugh, almost a giggle. Wait, did that just happen? Captain Byleth Eisner, laughing? Claude found himself floored by its sound, almost a melody to his ears.

  
"I imagine you wouldn't like that much," the teal-haired woman said, face brimming with mirth.

  
"That is correct, my friend." Claude leaned forward on his elbows. Emerald eyes locked on Byleth with a glint, studying her intently. "You’ve become quite expressive, haven’t you? You weren’t like that when we first met."

  
Byleth tilted her head to one side. "Is that so?"

  
Claude hummed in response.

  
“I want to know more about you.”

  
\---

  
"I feel like we're listening to something private," Marianne noted softly. Her gaze locked onto the receiver placed on top of the car's dashboard in which the three other detectives sat.

  
It had been around twenty minutes since Claude and Byleth got to their table. There hadn't been any suspicious acts from Iago judging by the direction of conversation between Claude and their captain.

  
Still…

  
"Sounds like they're having a good time." It was Raphael who commented, a big grin on his face. 

  
For the past twenty minutes or so, the squad were privy to an exchange of banters, jokes, laughter and personal anecdotes being shared. They learned that their captain’s favorite pastimes are fishing and gardening, hobbies she cultivated during her generally lonesome childhood. She had a cat; a short haired calico rescue named Robin. She loved tea times and meals shared together because she believed that it was one of the best ways to build trust and bonds between people.

  
Claude, in turn, shared some of his own stories, some of which the squad had known since they first knew him. Some things they found completely new, such as the fact that he liked to gaze up at the night stars and revel in its expanse just to remind himself that his dreams were still smaller and achievable than the night sky. Or how he didn't believe in bonds established at first sight and shared the captain’s sentiment that a good feast was the best way to create camaredice.

  
Was everything said between Claude and the captain real or fabricated for the sake of the task? The squad couldn’t be entirely sure. The way the pair's conversation flowed so naturally between them, however, hinted at the honesty within their words to each other.

  
“They are really hitting it off,” Hilda’s voice chimed in from Leonie’s speakerphone.

  
“Hilda, are you sure you don’t want to hang up before you burn all your credits?” Leonie asked, binoculars still glued to her eyes.

  
From the van, Hilda crossed her arms and gave a ‘tsk tsk’ sound to the detective through her phone. “Please, I’ve charged up my credits specifically for this mission, I can go all night.” Hilda brought a finger to her chin, an amused expression played on her face. “Claude sounds rather straightforward, tonight doesn’t he?”

“Tell me about it. Normally he would be saying something outlandish by now,” Lysithea spoke. Her attention was fixed on the notebook in her hand, carefully noting down everything she could learn about Byleth. 

Lorenz and Hilda raised their eyebrows at the sergeant’s antiques.

“I still can’t get over how he told us that the reason he joined the forces was because he's destined to be the king of some faraway land, and wanted to get a taste of dealing with real life before he ascends the throne,” Lysithea said with a frown, still scribbling away at her notebook.

Lorenz scoffed as he recalled the memory. “His actual reasoning is probably similar to Edelgard and Dimitri. The force is one surefire way to get involved in social and political affairs of Fodlan, and gives you prestige within the House of Lords.”

Hilda scrunched up her face at his comment. “Ugh, so much responsibility and pressure. I get why those two seems so tense all the time.”

“Guys. Shush. Still taking notes here,” Lysithea cut them off with a glare.

\---

Claude, at some point, had to stop and remind himself mentally that he was undercover and still on the job. He couldn’t help it though. He was surprised to find how easy it was to talk with Byleth. They danced around topics which were light and void of details that could point out their identities, yet he found great interest in the tiny details Byleth revealed about herself. They weren’t lies, he could tell that much. Not with the way her eyes remained on his, steady and unwavering as she talked, wanting to trust him with the little details about herself. Not with the way her face showed subtle bittersweet fondness as she recalled hobbies linked to her childhood, memories Claude was sure she had with Jeralt.

Her honesty somehow put him at ease in letting her in his world as well. He found himself telling her things he never admitted to others before. They weren’t secrets he meant to keep but he never felt the need to bring them up. Also, much to his delight, Byleth wasn’t as humorless as her stoic expression might have misled one to think. She gave smiles and small laughs to his jokes, occasionally quipping with banters of her own, sometimes awkward but straightforward and (adorably)  _ her _ .

For a fake date, Claude found his own immersion becoming very real. And he was having a genuinely good time with the woman sitting across him.

But of course, duty called.

Their conversation paused as they noticed Iago standing, excusing himself from his table and heading to the direction of the restaurant’s kitchen.

Byleth stood up not long after the man disappeared from their sight. 

“Excuse me while I drop by the ladies' room for a moment," she said as she placed her napkin on the table. “Be back in five minutes,” she murmured quietly, eyes narrowing briefly before leaving Claude on his own.

_ Meet me back there in five minutes.  _ That was what she meant, Claude thought to himself with a knowing smile.

He leaned back against his chair and took out his phone. He began to type out a message.

**Claude** : We got movement

It only took a few seconds for a reply to come.

**Lorenz** : Yes, we heard. Keep an eye out on him.

**Hilda** : don’t let him escape you like the stars in the night sky. Lol.

**Claude** : -.- shut up Hilda

**Claude** : that’s my embarrassing story I’m gifting all of you. Be grateful

Claude waited for a few more minutes filtering through his phone before he put the device back in his pocket and stood up from his chair. He trailed after the direction Iago headed to earlier. He immediately spotted Byleth standing by the open kitchen door, hiding herself behind the wall.

“Hey, what have you got so far?” Claude asked in a whisper as he approached her, looking over from behind her shoulder into the kitchen. Inside, Iago was talking to a man clad in white at an empty corner next to the plate racks.

“The sous-chef is his buyer. They're planning to make a transaction for some stolen national identification numbers from Faerghus." She turned her head to him. "The big tree near the fire hydrant on 12th avenue, 11 PM."

  
"Copy that," Claude nodded.

  
"Excuse me," they heard a voice from behind Claude. Simultaneously, the detective felt a light push on his back but the impact was enough to propel him into Byleth, pushing the latter a few steps forward. 

  
Claude gripped the doorway to try stop himself from moving further but it was too late. He and Byleth were in full view by Iago thanks to the gaping doorway. The waiter who tripped on his feet into Claude passed by them, murmuring an apology, giving them away even more to the thief.

  
The two quickly hid behind the wall by the kitchen doorway. Unnerved, they looked at each other, praying the other had a solution.

  
"Crap. He noticed us," Byleth whispered, her expression growing more tense as they heard Iago's footsteps gradually nearing towards them. "What do we do?"

  
What do they do, exactly? If they returned to their table now, things would seem more suspicious to Iago and it might alert him to the fact that he was being watched. Staying was the most logical option but what exactly would two people do in their place?

  
An idea suddenly came into Claude's head.

  
In retrospect, he could probably have come up with more artful solutions. But with the lack of time on their side, this idea was the most probable option at their given situation.

  
Was it brilliance or a complete disaster on his part? He couldn't tell.

  
Did he have any regrets?

  
Oh, absolutely not.

  
"Captain, I have a plan, just play along," Claude whispered quickly. He moved closer to Byleth until there was no more space between them. He brought his hands up and cupped the sides of her face gently. "Also, please don't fire me for this."

  
He leaned down and captured Byleth's lips with his.

  
\---

  
There were rustling sounds, almost as if the mics were rubbing against something constantly.

  
"Is the equipment malfunctioning?" Lysithea asked with a frown.

  
"I'm not sure," replied Lorenz, turning the receiver in his hand around and upside down checking for signs of defect.

  
In the other car, Ignatz was doing something similar, bringing the transmitter in his car around to check for disrupted signals. He resorted to checking the dials on the device. His action, however, was halted midway when a soft moan suddenly came on from among the rustling. A woman's moan. Specifically a woman's moan that sounded very much like their precinct captain, Captain Byleth Eisner.

  
But that wasn't the worst of it.

  
Shortly after that, another voice could be heard. A man's moan. In the voice of one Claude von Riegan that they were all very familiar with.

  
Realization dawned upon all of them. No jaws were left undropped in both cars.

  
"Is that...are they…" Leonie stuttered, still partially gaping. Next to her Marianne visibly blushed.

  
"Well that...escalated quickly," Ignatz commented as he collected himself from his state of fluster. Raphael gave a boisterous laugh.

  
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I did NOT sign up to hear this," Lysithea covered both her ears in exasperation. "This is like catching your older sibling in an indecent act with their significant other."

  
"I want to live in this moment  _ foreveeer _ ," Hilda sighed in satisfaction.

  
Lorenz merely covered his face with his hand, unable to find the words to respond to what he just heard. He also wondered if there was a way he could erase that memory from his mind for good.

  
\---

  
Claude wasn't sure what to expect when he kissed Byleth. A slap? A smack? Him ending up kissing a totally someone frozen stiff? Maybe.

  
But he definitely did not expect Byleth to be the one to pull him closer to her, forcing him to move his hands from her face into wrapping his arms around her lithe and taut figure instead.

  
He did not expect that moan coming out of her, the mere sound itself sending jolts of electricity coursing through his body, fueling and powering a heat that was within him. He moaned in return, instinct taking over his mind.

  
He did not expect the captain to be so willing and accommodating to his advances, the slip of his tongue on her lips was met with a small gasp before being granted its access.

  
And at that point Claude's ability to think coherently was out of the window. All he could focus on was Byleth's soft curves pressed against his body, their tongues dancing together warm and moist as they exchange hot and heavy breaths.

  
"Ahem."

  
Claude and Byleth broke apart quickly at the voice, both gasping for breath briefly. Iago was standing by them, an eyebrow raised pointedly to the two.

  
"If you will let me pass and return to my table," said Iago.

  
"Oh, we're so sorry." It was Byleth who spoke first as she intertwined a hand with his, taking Claude by surprise. "Gary here just proposed to me, and we're just so happy we wanted somewhere a little more private to… celebrate." She turned to him and gave him a look filled with adoration.

  
Claude resisted the urge to gulp. But he wasn't Claude von Riegan without being quick on his feet.

  
"I'm just so excited to spend the rest of my life with the girl of my dreams," Claude spoke, giving a peck on Byleth's cheek.

  
Iago darted his eyes between the two before an amused smile broke across his face. "All right, I get it, newly engaged kids. Congrats, you two." He gave them a quick nod before heading back to his table.

"Sorry about that," Byleth spoke once Iago was out of range, withdrawing her hand from his. Claude twitched his hand absent-mindedly at the sudden loss of warmth that was once there. "Just playing along like you said," the captain added.

  
Claude shook his head. "No no, it was good. Good thinking. Good acting."

  
What were words at this point?

  
"Right," Byleth nodded at him. "And you as well. Quick and professional thinking earlier. Good work, detective."

  
Their eyes met each other and they remained transfixed at each other for a few seconds before turning their faces away.

  
And if anyone were to pass by them at that moment they wouldn't miss the obvious blush both were sporting on their faces.

  
Byleth cleared her throat briefly. "So, I think we should head back to the others now."

  
Claude scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess," he answered with a sigh. He was not looking forward to face the deers just yet.

  
\---

  
Sure enough, when they reached the parked van, they were greeted by welcomes of varying degrees by its three occupants. Lysithea attempted hard to put up a faltering smile but the fact that she couldn't meet their eyes gave away her facade. Lorenz threw him a constipated-looking glare. Hilda, the original mastermind of all of this, appeared way too smug with herself.

  
"Sooo... did you kids have fun?" inquired the pink haired demon in disguise.

  
"Okay, let's get three things straight first," Claude held out three fingers to them, “one, whatever you heard was necessary in order to cover our disguise. Two, it worked. Three, we are still at work so keep your comments professional.”

  
He turned to Byleth. “Right, Captain?”

  
Luckily for Claude, Byleth decided to turn on her icy captain persona. Without further words, she immediately gave orders to everyone for their next action in the familiar blank yet stern expression she normally sported at work, effectively cutting any further discussions short.

  
They decided to head to Iago’s meet-up point by splitting up into two vehicles. Lorenz and Byleth claimed the van while Claude took his car with Lysithea and Hilda in tow, the latter deciding to remain in the mission regardless of any arguments. Byleth agreed as long as she remained in the car and stayed out of any potential confrontations. Claude somehow dreaded the combination of people he was stuck with.

  
“I hope you have a plan for the repercussions of your action just now, Claude,” Lysithea threw a sideways glare to him from the passenger seat of his car.

  
“Sarge, don’t worry too much. Both the captain and I had mutual understanding that what I did was necessary for our cover,” he replied wearily.

  
“But it’s not about what you guys  _ know _ ,” Hilda came forward and squeezed herself between the gap of their seats. “It’s what we heard and that was some intense-sounding make out session. Are you sure you guys were faking it?”

  
“Hilda, you say one more word and I’m going to ask the captain's permission to kick you out for case obstruction,” the detective glared at her. God, she was one of his best friends for sure but sometimes he wanted to strangle her for insinuating too much. It was just unfortunate that the woman was also often right.

  
“She wouldn’t let you; it’s late at night and unlike you both, I’m unarmed. You’re stuck with me until this is over,” Hilda gleed boastfully, waving a finger at him.

  
"Hilda, be quiet. Claude, please focus back on  _ your perp. _ " 

  
At the angry tone of their sergeant, the two quieted down. Claude averted his attention back at the towering tree where Byleth said the transaction would take place.

  
Safe to say the mission was successful in the end. Iago arrived at their location around their meet-up time, the sous-chef of Lafite following him not long after. They caught them in the middle of their exchange, a briefcase with a laptop inside filled with a list of stolen identification numbers. It was a great bust.

  
They all returned back to the precinct, Iago and his client towed at the back of the van with Lorenz and Byleth. Once they were back at the precinct, Hilda went home with Lysithea immediately, Lorenz following shortly after them.

  
"Good work tonight," Byleth said to him, her car keys in hand. She had changed out of her heels and a jacket was draped over her shoulders.

  
"Thanks, Cap, couldn't have done it without you," Claude replied, giving her a grin. They both stared silently at each other for a few seconds, air around them filled with words unsaid.

  
"Listen, I'm sorry again for earlier. I hope I didn't make you too uncomfortable," Claude said, scratching the back of his head.

  
"Not to worry about it. It was what needed to be done." Byleth shook her head. "I hope I didn't make too terrible of a fake date."

  
Was she serious? "You could never," Claude interjected quickly with a little too much honesty than he expected. "In a way, I had fun tonight."

  
"Yeah," Byleth smiled softly at him. "Me too."

  
Claude somehow felt a little like flying at that moment.

  
"I'll head out first. Don't stay back too late," said Byleth.

  
"I'll leave as soon as I process them into holding," Claude replied. They said their goodbyes and Claude watched the precinct captain until she disappeared into the building elevator. He then shifted his attention to his two perps, cuffed by his desk.

  
Just another night on the job.

  
  
  


  
  



	14. Crossroads: Spring and Storm

Byleth had lost count at how many minutes (or hours?) she had been in a staring contest with her ceiling. It wasn't a rare occurrence that her mind would overwork itself, preventing her from the slumber she really needed. Insomnia and restlessness were old friends of hers.

  
What was different this time was the reason behind her sleepless state.

  
It wasn't the recollection of old tragedies, such as her father dying as she held him in his arms. Or of the emptiness she felt within her that sometimes took the best of her. It wasn't her mind thinking and strategizing ways to get her new leads for the closure she needed.

  
No. The moment she closed her eyes, memories of warm lips on hers filled her mind. The feeling of two strong arms holding her, making her feel small and weak. She had always been strong, had to make herself seem strong, and to feel so disarmed yet protected at the same time was something entirely new to her. She could smell traces of Claude's cologne on her hair and other parts of her body. Its scent stirred something within her.

  
She didn't know if she had acted correctly, it was all new to her. He told her to play along and she did. She responded with what she could recall from the movies she saw. Then it got all too easy as the pool of heat within her grew and her instinct took over. And when it was over, all she could think about was how short the kiss had been and how she wanted more.

  
She was never familiar with greed. Never thought of wanting anything for herself. Never thought she deserved anything, really. But was that what greed felt like?

  
Robin came up to the bed next to her, breaking her out of her thoughts. The calico nuzzled her face before settling down next to Byleth. She began stroking the feline's head.

  
"Hey, there." Well, she was not going to sleep anytime soon. Might as well let her thoughts out to someone who she knew would keep them to herself. "Guess what? I finally experienced a kiss today."She smiled slightly to herself. "And it was better than I thought it would be."

  
All her life, Byleth could only see herself walking through an empty gray space, on her own in a path void of color and life like she always did. 

  
It wasn't until she joined the 99th that traces of grass began to grow in her path, the first sign of a belated spring in her world.

  
It wasn't until she started spending more time with Claude that life began to sprout at an incredible speed. There were full patches of grass now, buds of flowers of varying colors, tree saplings that were eager to grow. She could also hear faint chirps of birds, singing their glory to a new dawn. And most recently, gentle rays of sun falling over her, granting her warmth that seeped through her body.

  
Life was actually safe. It wasn't so bad after all. It was pleasant. And she was curious to know more.

_  
Claude von Riegan, will you make more flowers bloom? _

  
\---

  
Claude turned and tossed in his bed for the umpteenth time. He sighed in defeat.

  
It wasn't that he couldn't fall asleep. No, he was definitely worn out--he could sleep any minute.

  
The problem was what happened each time he began to drift off. Images of a certain aegean-haired woman appear. Her smile and laugh. The feel of her body pressed up against his and her sweet scent. Her soft lips on his...

  
And it took all of Claude's power to wake up before that mental picture grew more graphic and something very real inside him would be stirred awake.

  
No no no. This shouldn't be happening.

  
Claude covered his eyes with an arm and sighed. Romance and relationships were things he had been pointedly avoiding up until now. Nothing against them, but he had goals that he wanted to achieve before delving into that. And secrets he was not ready to reveal to anyone. With his circumstances, he probably couldn't pick just anybody. Not unless he wanted his future spouse to be ostracized should she not fit his family's expectation. And he wouldn't want that for her.

  
Sure, he could flirt. He had absolutely no problem with that. He had some one night stands back in his college years as well, all mainly from stupid drunken endeavors. But no one had really pulled him for more than just momentary fun. No one had really fit his mold before.

  
Then came Byleth Eisner. Like a silent storm, she barged in suddenly, bringing in a torrent of waves that crashed against his dam of defenses. A dam built out of distrust and fear of others from days gone by. He could sense the cracks forming on its impact, and how they grew overtime as thoughts of her washed over him.

  
It started with her integrity, then her courage. Her undisputable strength and steadfastness. It was also her kindness, so genuine and thoughtful that it drowned him the first time he experienced it. It was the raw anger and pain within her, crashing over her, an endless torrential downpour he wanted to shield her so badly from. And for all the mysteries shrouding her, like the low clouds of a heavy downpour, he wanted to uncover them from her until the sun could finally filter down on her and give her the clarity she badly needed.

  
Claude chuckled to himself. How was he such a sap now? He must have been around Lorenz too much lately. 

  
Byleth was a sudden unknown tempest in his world. Claude, who was always a few steps ahead in everything he did, found himself unsure of what to do for once in his life. 

  
But he was happy to be swept in her current.

  
He closed his eyes once more, trying to salvage some sleep. An image of Byleth immediately flashed across his mind; of her out of breath, red across her cheeks, hair in disarray and sapphire eyes hooded with desire.

  
Claude sat up and sighed. Yeah, a cold shower might help him clear his mind a little.

_  
Oh, my friend, you are truly a force to be reckoned with. _


	15. Crossroads - In Motion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter I am bringing you Dad-Alois because I am soft for the idea and he is a man to be protected at all cost. I don't normally go for OCs in my fics but I just can't see Alois being with anyone that is his age in the canon-verse so...OC stepped up. It's up to your imagination to detail how his wife and child would look like.

Alois tilted his head back slightly and inhaled a deep long breath. Ah, how he loved the coastal air of Derdriu. The smell of the ocean, the screeches of gulls, the warm and humid atmosphere. It was something he missed while living in the mountainous and land-locked Garreg Mach City. Once an old monastery compound thousands of years ago, it was now a city-state that spanned to the former region of Zanado, independent of its surrounding territories. The current Garreg Mach is now the political, scientific and security hub of Fodlan, the representation of unity between the three kingdoms of the region.

  
He headed to the beach-side cafe: a modestly-sized white building with a blue-covered patio connected to its exterior, the cafe’s bridge open to the sandy terrains. He immediately spotted the person he was seeking sitting in one of the tables under the patio immersed in a book opened in front of her.

  
"Byleth!" Alois called out with an excited grin as he walked over to her. The woman looked up from her book, a gentle smile formed across her face as recognition thit her. She stood up from her chair and met the man with a brief hug.

  
"It's been a while, Alois."

  
"Yes it has," the man replied with a delight. He took a step back and focused his eyes on Byleth, taking in her appearance with a look akin to one a father would give to his daughter. "You look great! Being a captain seems to be treating you well," he said with a smile.

  
They both took their seats at the table. A soft breeze danced around them, shrouding them with the warmth of the sun shining brightly above them.

  
"Thank you, it has been a great experience so far," Byleth nodded, folding her arms on the table. "How are Veronica and Thomas?"

  
"They're as perky as ever. Little Tommy is ten now and is up to new troubles all the time, giving his old man a run for his money," Alois shook his head, but the endearment in his tone defies his feigned dismay. "They say they miss you."

  
"Tell them likewise, I will see if I can visit soon,” Byleth replied.

  
“I wanted to visit you during the week of your birthday, but I've got a job commitment during that time," the brown-haired man admitted with a dejected sigh. "Oh well, here's your birthday gift two weeks early," Alois said with a grin, pointing a thumb to himself.

  
Byleth laughed lightly at the older man's exuberance. "And I appreciate it." She met his eyes, her expression filled with a little more seriousness than before. “Actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to send you, but it’s better that I’m able to give it to you in person instead.”

  
The blue-haired woman reached down and brought up a small black rectangular bag on her lap. She rummaged through it shortly before producing an A4 sized white envelope from it. She slid it across the table towards him.

  
Intrigued, Alois raised an eyebrow at the object. “Oho, what do we have here?” He grabbed the envelope, slightly surprised that it carried more weight than he expected. He pried open its seal and pulled out some of its content: they were sheets of scientific formulas he couldn’t recognize.

  
“Hmm... if you're asking me for help with these I'm afraid you've come to the wrong person, young lady," Alois frowned at the papers in his hand.

  
"I need you to pass them over to Hanneman for me."

  
Alois looked up from the sheets in front of him. "Is this related to a case?"

  
Byleth nodded. "Agartha," she said simply.

  
At that, Alois' face sharpened. He quickly returned the papers inside the envelope and pressed on its seal. "You're still investigating them," Alois spoke with a seriousness that now matched the young captain, an arm weighed over the envelope lying in front of him.

  
"It's the only reason I joined the forces in the first place," Byleth shrugged. "And I'm finding new leads, I think Leicester was the right decision after all."

  
Alois stared silently at Byleth for a few moments. There it was; he recognized it as always. The undeterred will and inextinguishable fire she had when it came to cases. In retrospect, Alois understood. Nemesis and his gang had taken away the one foundation in her life, turning the world she knew upside down. She desired answers, and rightfully so. Still, it didn't mean he liked the idea of it. 

  
Alois gave a defeated sigh.

  
"Byleth, you're a grown woman now, capable of making your own decisions. And I will help you to the best of my ability and be your most dependable ally," he paused and crossed his arms, "but I want you to be more careful considering…"

  
Byleth nodded, knowing exactly what Alois meant.

_  
Considering there's the possibility of a mole inside Fodlan's police forces. _

  
"I'm slowing it down as best as I could but I have to do this, you know that."

  
"I know, I know," Alois replied, "I'd hate to face your old man in the other realm should anything happen to you though."

  
The corner of Byleth's mouth moved up slightly. "Should that happen, I'll first tell him that you've been taking good care of me since he's been gone."

  
Alois deadpanned. "Hey now, no morbid talk." He nodded at the piece of envelope in front of him. "I'll get it to Hanneman no worries. And as usual, mum’s the word,” Alois ended with a wink.

  
“Thank you, Alois.” The man noted how Byleth’s shoulders relaxed more visibly from his words and a sense of relief washed over him. 

_  
Still got it _ , he thought silently. He took pride in himself to be among the very, very few people (that he knew of) whom Byleth could feel at ease with. It wasn’t an easy endeavor for him. When he first took her in, the fifteen-year-old Byleth Eisner was a cold, quiet and shetered little human being. Carrying fresh scars from seeing the only family she knew die in her arms, teenage Byleth would rarely talk, only giving one word answers when asked. She never showed a single emotion, neither happiness nor sadness. She wasn't bitter or angry, it was more like life doesn't exist inside her.

  
But Alois was nothing if not persistent. Luckily for him, Veronica - who was his newly-wed then - also shared the same sentiment. They never pushed Byleth to open up to them. However, they would always fill in her silence with happy chatter of their own, despite her non-responsive demeanour, hoping that at some point it would catch on to her and that she would be comfortable enough with them.

  
And she did, a year and a half later. It was around the time that he found out Veronica was expecting. Byleth came to the table during dinner with a small vase of freshly picked flowers. She held out the arrangement to Veronica.

_  
"Gifts make other people happy so this is for you for this happy occasion," she muttered softly. "Also a thank you from me for...everything." _

  
She gave them a slight smile back then, the very first hint of emotion that Alois remembered Byleth ever gave to them. It took all of his power then to not bawl on the spot.

  
From then on, as Byleth became more comfortable towards them, Alois discovered several things about her. Despite her general stoicism, Byleth actually had a big heart. She struggled with understanding life for herself but she cared about and loved life in her own way. She had a passion for gardening and tending to plants. More often than not, Alois would catch her feeding stray animals. Cats in particular were her favorite. 

  
He would also see her go out of her way to help the homeless she passed by, either by giving them money or food. Emotions and relationships might be something Byleth were still grappling with, probably even until now, but others’ difficulties was something she understood well. Perhaps, it was her difficult past that made her capable of feeling their hardships as her own.

  
Alois only wished she could do the same with happiness and joy.

  
“All right, enough work talk, that’s not what I came here to see you for,” Alois waved a hand across the air between them. “I want to know what you’re up to with life! Anything new? Or anyone... _ interesting _ ?” he asked with an eyebrow wiggle.

  
Byleth scoffed at his question. “I can tell you a bit about my squad…”

  
And so, as Byleth went off to tell him stories of the precinct she leads, Alois came to a conclusion that Derdriu might have been a good move for her. It has only been a couple of months but he could see a significant difference in her. The woman sitting across him was more expressive than the Byleth he knew before, more comfortable in articulating her thoughts. Her eyes reflected more emotions and her smiles were less restrained. She spoke of all her subordinates with hints of fondness, telling him of all their little quirks and each of their individual interests that she was fortunate to be a part of. Alois was, in all honesty, overjoyed to hear all of it. It seemed that she was finally able to figure out how to bond with others. Moreover, the squad she was tasked with appeared to be a rowdy bunch of good people. At least, that was what he could gather from Byleth’s words.

  
But there was one particular detail that caught his attention.

  
“And then there was Claude von Riegan…”

  
Claude von Riegan. There was a difference to Byleth’s tone the moment the name escaped her lips. As subtle as it was, it did not escape Alois as someone who had been trying to understand and figure her out for more than a decade. Her face brightened slightly as she spoke of him. Happier, softer and warmer. She spoke of him a little bit more than the others, of their various on-field adventures together. But it was the way she recalled her time with him, similar to the way she would talk of her favorite flower or a good catch of fish, that convinced Alois.

  
The time had finally come. Someone had finally taken her special interest.

  
She might not realize it herself, Alois thought. But he’ll let her figure things out herself.

  
Claude von Riegan. The grandson of Duke Oswald von Riegan. A nobility blood-line. Not the worst choice, but not the easiest choice either. 

  
Alois made a note to make his next trip to Derdriu longer and perhaps pay a chance visit to Byleth’s precinct and get acquainted with everyone around her. Specifically the Riegan kid.

  
Alois may not have a legitimate paternal link to Byleth but after 12 years of looking after her, she became an honorary daughter to him. And no matter how old daughters get, as a father, the sense of protectiveness over them would always be there. After all that Byleth had gone through in her past, Alois wanted her to find her own happiness. Sure, life didn’t always make the journey easy. But if there was something Alois could do to help Byleth avoid paths that might hurt her, then he would do all he can. 

  
For himself and for Jeralt.

  
\---

  
Everything comes in opposing pairs. Dark and Light. Up and Down. North and South.

  
Then there’s the old-age debate between science versus divinity. Are they polarizing concepts or do they come hand in hand?

  
Thales had always been on the side of science and facts as they were key to human advancements. Sometimes though, in the journey of discovery, one would encounter things that were unknown and uncomfortable. Such as the case with Thales twenty something years ago when he and his team discovered the method that replicated the essence of creation itself.

  
Or, as some would call it, the god particle. If he had chosen to believe in that.

  
It was supposed to be a discovery of marvel, especially for the science community. They had uncracked further the most basic build of everything that ever existed. And once you know the basic foundation of something, you could build, expand and manipulate.

  
Power. The root of everything.

  
Thales saw a key to power with the discovery. One that could bring Fodlan to rise once more, feared and respected by its neighbouring regions.

  
Yet it was the science community who shunned him for this, backed by the reigning three lords of Fodlan. They feared the uncertainties of it, its instability. They had gone complacent and accepted the equality of all nations.

  
Fools.

  
But not long after he was stripped of the possibility in making his discovery a reality, a group of powerful allies came by from the most unexpected place.

  
They were of those who believe in divinity. Although Thales could sense that power was what most of them were seeking. And power he could provide.

  
Never in his lifetime did Thales think he would work side by side by those who believed in a higher being and yet they are the ones making his greatest discovery a reality now. Their ulterior motives might differ but their endgame is the same. And that was all that mattered.

  
He stared at the barrel-like canister attached to the outstretched glass tube in front of him, a speck of glistening light the size of a BB ball suspended in its center.

_  
Beautiful _ , Thales thought to himself.

_  
Ding _ . He heard the elevator door open and a set of footsteps heading towards him. Thales glanced back to the source of the sound. From the dim lights of the expansive, tunnel-like laboratory he was in, he recognized the shoulder-length orange hair and the lithe figure.

  
"Kronya," Thales spoke. He took note of the small dagger in her right hand and a piece of cloth tainted in red in her left. "I suppose you're finished with Myson."

  
"Heh," Kronya cackled, "he'll think twice next time before he does something as careless like that again. For a genius, he's real clumsy at covering his tracks."

  
Thales didn't respond to the woman's comment. He shifted his attention back to the canister in front of him. Kronya stopped next to him and directed her attention to the device.

  
"That's the second one huh?" she asked.

  
"Yes," Thales answered with a nod. "One more and our plan will finally be in motion."

  
Kronya gave a short hum to the older man's statement. She shifted her eyes sideways to him. "The Eisner girl managed to collect some of the paper calculations."

_  
Eisner _ . The name always leaves a bitter taste in Thales' mouth.

  
"It doesn't matter, we are well into our schedule before she could even decipher what our intentions are," Thales said flatly.

  
Kronya gave a frustrated sigh. "I could have easily taken her out if it wasn't for  _ her _ order."

  
Thales nodded as he empathized with Kronya's frustration. Until now, even he was left in the dark on why Byleth Eisner was regarded so highly by their counterpart's leader.

  
"Although I suppose…" Thales started after some thought, "giving her one more warning would not breach any order."

  
A wicked smile crossed Kronya's face. "And collateral damage?"

  
Thales looked up to the dark ceiling of the laboratory. "Sometimes for the greater good, sacrifices have to be made."

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession: whatever Thales and his lab is working on I will be borrowing the entire idea from a book/its movie adaptation because it involves a lot of science/physic aspects and my brain does not have the comprehensive capability for them to do independent research myself (read; I'm a dumbass with physics). I will credit the author in later chapters but I can't do it now without spoiling a good bit of the fic. If you have a hunch on what it is, then great. Watch as I try to merge the idea with Fodlan verse (and hopefully not fail miserably ahahha).
> 
> The next chapters might be a little delayed because I'm currently in the process of settling into a new country and also I'm hitting a bit of a stump on how I should approach the following chapters. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the fic so far and I thank you if you followed Justifying You until this stage!


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